Sad day for Test cricket
In the end, what all witnessed was the meek surrender to the power of cash that has gained its strength since it started and even before the tamasha commenced, the money power and autocratic nature of BCCI used to show its demonic face time and again since the mid-90s. It might not have been stronger in the past, but right now it is deadlier than a demon.
India take lead
The beauty of Test cricket lies in its change of colours when two of the best teams of the format face each other. They don’t give up easily and continues to push their limits and make the contest a simmering one. India, despite being on the back foot, for most of the times at Oval, turned things around with the bat and ball to take a lead in the Test series.
England thrash India
After the defeat at Lord’s England regrouped and thrashed India at Leeds by inflicting an innings defeat. Virat Kohli won the toss and elected to bat on a deck that was still spongy and required application in the first couple of sessions, but England cast a spell of brilliant swing bowling that shot the visitors out for 78 – ultimately, India never recovered from that shock.
India conquer Lord’s
After the epic Test match at Jamaica, there was no time to catch a breath because, by the time you woke up after sleeping late at night, Lord’s was buzzing and inviting each and every cricket fan for a final day full of drama. At one point, you might have assumed, it was heading towards a draw, rather, it ended up with an epic Indian victory.
A sad end to beautifully poised Test match
On the final day, England needed to defend their total with Chetehswar Pujara and Rohit Sharma at the crease and some world-class batsmen waiting in the dressing room to push for the win, the first Test at Trent Bridge was beautifully poised for a great finish. Anything could have happened on a final deck that gave evidence of bounce and movement – sadly, it was the inclement weather that won the battle in the end.
Video: England gift Cook a fitting farewell
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DCHqDImbmMo
What a Test series it had been! What a fascinating contest we all witnessed at the Oval and the end of a career, which deserves plenty of accolades.
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