Ben Stokes might not agree, but there is something poetic about a draw in cricket. Not the damp squib kind, washed out by monsoon or apathy, but the edge-of-the-seat kind, where time runs out — time, that most important element in a five-day game. Where Kipling’s ‘If-’ is evoked in the dressing room. If only those catches had been held. If only we hadn’t batted for so long.
A draw is a reminder of the uniqueness of Test cricket. You don’t have to win to be heroic. Sometimes survival, especially when there is apparently no chance, is a triumph. We need reminding that it isn’t all about winning and losing. Binaries simplify; Test cricket, like life, is richer and subtler than that.
A five-Test series reflects the trials and possibilities of a single Test match. There are choices at every step. Do you play the ball or leave it alone? Over or round the wicket? Players have to keep fit, selectors have to pick the right combination. A poor session can lead to defeat; a couple, and a series might be lost. The big picture — whether in a single innings, single Test or full series — must dictate.
Defensive mindset
For a team that was trailing coming into Old Trafford, India went in with a defensive mindset. They had to do all the running, they had to take risks. Yet, from the start, from team selection, to batting in the first innings, the accent was on defence. On waiting for things to happen. Stroke players curbed their stroke play. Someone had to take a chance, no one did.
It is unfair to ask a young fast bowler to make his debut within hours of landing in England. Anshul Kamboj looked out of sorts in a team where the incumbents haven’t been having it so good. Kuldeep Yadav ought to play at the Oval. He is a skilled wrist spinner who asks uncomfortable questions even on batting tracks, which England prefer since they love to chase in the fourth innings.
With a 2-1 lead in the series, England would be happy with either of two results, a win or (whisper it, out of Stokes’ hearing) a draw. India have to win to level. That would be a fair result in what has unfolded as a series for the ages.
India have to be bold, make changes in personnel, some forced (like the replacement for the injured Rishabh Pant) and some necessary (Kuldeep) to claim 20 wickets. Batting slots three and five are unsettled even if Sai Sudharsan has made a half century. Jasprit Bumrah might be forced to play. He looked troubled at Old Trafford, straying middle-and-leg and gifting runs, but he is a great bowler and knows his game.
Fatigue over the intensity of the competition (and the exceptionally hot weather in England) has seen the fast bowlers from either side wilt. The final Test will be a clash between two sets of tired bowlers.
Brutal series
This has been a brutal series, physically and mentally. The teams have striven not just to outplay the other but to out-pressurise them as well. The perfect cover drive is, in the modern game, as effective as the perfect verbal taunt. Things have got out of hand occasionally. The England captain and his temporary lead bowler Harry Brook didn’t cover themselves with glory as the recent Test ended. Ruthlessness in competition can be an admirable trait, but churlishness never is.
Years from now no one will remember how the last few runs were made, but the centuries by Ravindra Jadeja and Washington Sundar will remain part of sporting folklore.
In his newspaper column, Geoff Boycott said, “These India players are tough cookies. They do not take a backward step.” You can’t argue with that.
His huge bag of runs might have obscured some of Gill’s captaincy oversights. But a streak of toughness has begun to manifest itself. He is not a demonstrative captain, it’s difficult to read his face for clues to his mind. India chose their captain wisely; now they need to choose the team for the final Test just as wisely.
They have to take charge at the Oval. And keep Stokes from rediscovering the poetry in a draw.
Published – July 30, 2025 12:30 am IST
