Gargi Raut at Lord’s
Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli announced their Test retirements in the span of seven days in the midst of the IPL and it marked one of the biggest transitions for India’s Test team. It was assumed that Jasprit Bumrah, the senior-most player in the side, would not play more than three games in the five-match Test series, leaving the selectors with no option but to look to a young player to lead the team. In the race for captaincy between Shubman Gill, KL Rahul and Rishabh Pant, all signs pointed towards Gill to take over the reins of the team. With two legends of Indian cricket retired, a 25-year-old captain and a fairly inexperienced team, fans knew not to expect too much from the team.
“All we want to see is fight” was repeated multiple times in conversations on social media among fans. “Beating England in England is impossible, without a Virat and Rohit, there will be no buzz for the series” said others, only for it all to be proven wrong. The Test series started in Leeds with a serious show of intent with India pushing England to the last session of Day 5. The fightback then turned into a show of dominance at Birmingham as young India breached fortress Edgbaston. With the series levelled and momentum in favour of India, fans thronged the historic Lord’s stadium for another blockbuster Test match.
After a three-day lull, the last-over drama on Day 3 added much-needed spice to the series. Tensions rose, verbal were exchanged and a few shoulder checks fired up the two sides. By the end of Day 4, India had opened up the possibility of a win, but a top-order collapse meant Pant and Rahul had to shoulder the responsibility of steadying the ship once again. But on the final day, the ship was anything but steady. Pant lost his wicket after scoring just 9 runs, Rahul soon followed and Ravindra Jadeja was left to take on the burden.
Mohammad Siraj collapsed under the disappointment of losing his wicket as the ball took the inside of his bat and slowly rolled to the stumps to dislodge the bails. Crestfallen at the idea of losing the match by an inch, head rested on his bat, down on his knees—Jadeja at the non-striker’s end was in disbelief, motionless. By the end of the match, he wasn’t meant to be the hero, but he played like one anyway.
He didn’t counterattack, didn’t take the game by the scruff, but just stayed. Taking the game away from England ball after ball, over after over, long after others had folded, long after England had sensed blood and catalysed a collapse of the batters who looked flawless in the last two Tests. He soaked up the pressure, let the scoreboard crawl, and kept finding just enough support to keep the illusion alive that India could somehow pull off a win.
Jadeja’s innings was grim, and it was stubborn. For a few hours, he became everything this new team wants to be: composed under pressure, defiant without the drama, and calm in the middle of a storm. The end came not with fireworks but with a tired mistake. He had taken the game as deep as it could possibly go, dragging India past the realm of miracles and into that familiar space just short of them. It wasn’t The Gabba. It wasn’t Headingley. It wasn’t even a win. But it was fight. And maybe, for this young team, that’s gold.
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