India chronicled a remarkable victory over England at the Oval as they ran amok on the fifth day with a couple of superlative sessions that broke the spine of the English batting. As the hosts started the day with 78 for no loss, and another 291 runs to win, it was Shardul Thakur who opened the flood gates for India.
An act of blitzkrieg from Mayank Agarwal got rid of an in-form Dawid Malan for cheap while what followed thereafter was absolutely mythic. Jasprit Bumrah and Ravindra Jadeja tore down through the English middle-order that left England wobbling in a span of six runs.
Jadeja started the apocalypse with a brilliant delivery that foxed Haseeb Hameed and kissed timbre. The next man to depart was Ollie Pope as Bumrah broke Kapil Dev’s record with a searing delivery that barreled through the defences of Ollie Pope and hammered the off and the middle-stump.
Bumrah came up with another peach that claimed Jonny Bairstow and it was a picture-perfect toe-crushing yorker. Hurtling at 145 plus clicks, Bumrah razed through Bairstow’s shield. Jadeja struck in quick succession again as he removed Moeen Ali with a very soft dismissal with Suryakumar Yadav completing the catch.
Joe Root and Chris Woakes came together for a brief period of resistance but it didn’t last long as Shardul Thakur came up with a brilliant delivery to claim the big wicket of Joe Root who played onto his own stumps.
Umesh Yadav moped up the tail in no time as he removed Chris Woakes, Craig Overton and James Anderson to send the Indian crowd into raptures.
India was faced with humiliation on the opening day of the Test match as they were reduced to 117 for 6. However, late heroics from Shardul Thakur that saw him registering the fastest half-century in Test cricket in England, helped India reach a decent 191. The Indian bowlers kept on squeezing the English batters with some relentless persuasion but a decent effort from the lower half of England helped them to secure a comprehensive lead.
Rohit Sharma powered an extraordinary century in the second innings followed by stellar knocks from Pujara, Kohli, Pant and most importantly Shardul Thakur to propel India to a formidable 466. India managed to overcome a 99 run lead in the first innings and post a target of 368.
Rajdeep Sardesai, one of India’s leading journalists, opened up about this historic victory by India. He took to Twitter and posted, “In 1971; India beat England in England at Oval for the first time with the power of spin. 50 years later, its pace which is king. Salute @imVkohli and team India: bowled out on the first day for 191 on a good wicket and then to win so comprehensively. Remarkable, relentless!”
In 1971; India beat England in England at Oval for the first time with power of spin. 50 years later, it’s pace which is king. Salute @imVkohli and team India: bowled out on first day for 191 on a good wicket and then to win so comprehensively. Remarkable, relentless! #INDvENG
— Rajdeep Sardesai (@sardesairajdeep) September 6, 2021
The series victory that Rajdeep pointed out, saw India’s first series triumph on England soil and it also witnessed India’s first overseas victory. Inda’s pace quartet has been absolutely relentless in the ongoing series and Rajdeep’s tweet shed a lot of limelight on this burning fact.
