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“The beauty of Test cricket is all about playing an opponent in their backyard or defending home turf under challenging conditions over five days - dominating each session, dominating each day, picking 20 wickets to win a contest. That's historically been cricket's most fascinating gift”… Ravi Shastri.
‘Physically, Mentally, Emotionally, this series has taken away a lot from each of us, but in return it has gifted us something very important & that is character” ... KL Rahul.
“Battles are remembered not by their result but for the way warriors fought them”… Me.
Well, finally the five test match series between India-England ended yesterday & the words about them by two men, one is great critic as well a player by himself & other was part of that series & has lived it on the ground for twenty-five days of game & nearly forty days in that biosphere! And then my words which I used as my status for today about the series not just the last test match, such intense was the way it was fought, yes played will be a very mild word to describe the game! As in the fourth test Rishabh Pant batting with fractured right foot, barely able to stand & in the last minutes of final day of fifth test Chris Voalks with left shoulder dislocated & pain covering his face with every step he was taking yet deciding to play as his team needed him to bat, these images are not just game, its battle & yet full of sportsman spirit! Because the standing ovation which Pant got when his image appeared on the door of dressing room limping towards the crease or Volks coming out on ground after the ninth wicket fall & a hug given by Siraj to him after India won the last test, all these moments though are history but will be lingering in every sports lover’s mind for sure, even a diehard cricket hater’s too, such was the impact of this series!
Oh k, the sharing is about cricket & a record for myself as out of five test matches, four times I felt the urge to write about it & trust me I have been watching, following cricket for last forty years & I haven’t experienced (as seen or listened isn’t enough word) such series of games (matches) & I am not referring to records which have been made by breaking the age old records but the level of game & the commitment by every single player that too for all five matches, man oh man, it’s amazing, just amazing to feel! Fortunately, as the matches were being played in England, I could watch half part of the day’s play when I am back at home, again a rare thing for me. And all this when people were saying test match pattern of cricket is extinct! On fifth day of test match in the morning after our badminton game my friend who is Vaishali’s manager was discussing with me about probable outcome & I said we will win & I will give lunch to all the floor boys of Vaishali (sweepers, table cleaners) & one waiter who was listening he said, Sir knows, he need not have to give party, means we are not going to win is what he thought! In India, on three things anybody is allowed (and welcomed) to share his or her opinion, Politics, Movies & Cricket & this kind of series is very important to add on the popularity of not just cricket but entire sports at large, is what I personally feel! And of-late in the age of speed where interest of people is as paper thin as just 20-seconds (reels mania) making masses to sit for seven hours a day & for five days is a near impossible job but that also is possible, is what this test series has shown us!
Well, as I mentioned the series in the process of taking the game to battle level has broken many age-old records as well created new ones but more than that it helped many youngsters to discover themselves, & these are not my just observations but words of Captain of England team, who pushed himself to physical limits in making his team win & in the process has to sit out for the last test such tortured his body was! Before I share my take away from the test series one must know the level of excellence, individual as well team’s with which this series was played (read as fought) & here are few, I am deliberately not giving much importance to figures but achievements, so pardon me if some mathematical or parodical errors…
The total number of runs made by both teams jointly is second ranking.
The total numbers of hundreds as well fifties made by batsmen from both sides is also in tune with number one in table. And above are
The total number of balls played by the Indian team is maximum.
The victory margins by runs in the overseas is maximum for team India in the second test & so was with minimum margin in winning in the last test.
In recent times, this was the first five test series where all test matches went for five days.
Team India has never won the last match of five test series overseas.
For the first time Indian pace bowlers took five wicket hauls for five times in a test series.
These are a few of the team records made & broken & do mind we are referring to a nearly hundred plus years period here! On the front of individual records also this series was phenomenal as every team member stretched himself to limits, physical & mental & outcome is bound to be extraordinary on personal performance also!
Shubhan Gill as batsman has made place for himself in all time great performances with maximum individual runs in a series by Captain & in the process he has gone above, Sunil Gavaskar, Virat Kohli & Sachin Tendulkar & these all are no less than Gods for Indian cricket! At the same time he has made his entry into a list which has names like Sir Don Bradman, Sir Garry Sobers, that too at the age of twenty five!
Jadeja became first batsman batting on number six position & aggregating more than five hundred runs against England in England.
Nearly five batsmen made their individual best in the overseas in one series.
Mohammad Siraj became the maximum wicket taking bowler in a single series in England, joining Bumrah at that position. And needless to tell, post this series, many of the Indian players have risen to their individual all time high positions in respective categories as per ICC rankings, that's a by-product of playing your heart out! BTW, all the names of the players, places mentioned in sharing you can google for them if want more information or introduction about them!
And, there are many more records, firsts', but I will skip that part as the sharing is not about records but about the attitude displayed by Indian team, again I am deliberately referring to Indian team’s attitude & character! That too because, one, we were visitors in a country where our track record is against us even with big players, two, the team was young, & three the opponent was not just experienced in every field but has proved themselves with Baz-ball way (plz google) & it was the Indian team who has to prove themselves as worthy to such opponent & last but not least, even before start of the series everybody has written this Indian team off from the series! On all such backgrounds when the series gets tied, 2-2 & one draw then I must say, figures never justify the battle & its intensity, which was shown by team India. As had there been some more maturity & experience then this score would have been 3-1 & a draw or even 4-0 & a draw too in the favour of team India. Earlier many would have laughed at this statement but now after the series is over even the most critic of Indian teams also would join my opinion; I am sure & this is the biggest achievement of our team! And then, after the last match, the entire media not just the sports world, is buzzing with one word, “Believe” (now, trademark of M.Siraj) as that’s what this Indian team did & it can be the best motivation for entire nation’s frustrated souls who thinks, “yaha kuchh nahi badalnewala”! This shift of attitude from “hope” to “believe”, is the biggest & best outcome of India England test series & it’s not just for the players but for everybody associated with the game. Rather those who hate cricket should also watch its glimpses (thanks Jio Hot Star) as each of us has to face our hardest test which for some is bad luck & for the few is an opportunity to prove what we are capable of & those few are the champions! This young team India has nothing to lose actually, when they went for the team, even if they would have come defeated badly nobody would have blamed them & all just hoped that they will give some fight. But the team didn’t rely on hope, instead they believed in themselves & they delivered what nobody even hoped for, a series draw which is more than a win actually!! As KL Rahul very rightly said, this kind of battle takes away a lot from you but gifts you back your identity & character as that’s what is going to decide your fate forever! I don’t know about others yet even at my age which is on the other side of fifty, I learned a lot from this test series & it's definitely not how to play cricket but a lot more than that & that is, how to face the toughest of the challenges! Thanks, young team India for making me understand the meaning of “Believe” & its importance in fighting my battles, sure many more to come from you; keep fighting & keep growing with every battle, adios with this note!
(On a very personal note, the biggest satisfaction for me was watching two guys whose names are "Krishna & Mohammad", were pouring their hearts out, fighting shoulder to shoulder together to make the Indian Team win a battle which most must have thought lost already, and they did it together!! At Least now, all those fools who fight over religion & caste in this country must have realized what is the right way to victory, lets learn from this win!! Team Sanjeevani salutes Team India..!)
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Sanjay Deshpande
Sanjeevani Dev.
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