By Amlan Chakraborty
NEW DELHI (Reuters) -An euphoric India heaped praises on Shubman Gill and his men after they pulled off an edge-of-the-seat thriller at the Oval on Monday to split an all-time classic series with England.
Odds were stacked against India in their first test series under Gill, who inherited a team depleted by the retirement of batting stalwarts Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli – two men who preceded him in that role.
As if the gaping holes in their batting order were not bad enough, veteran seamer Mohammed Shami was deemed unfit for the tour, while pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah was available only for three of the five tests as part of his workload management.
Gill and his men went on to record memorable victories at Edgbaston and the Oval to secure a 2-2 series draw and assure their legions of fans that the future of Indian cricket was in safe hands.
The indefatigable Mohammed Siraj led their lion-hearted bowling afford in the series finale to script a six-run victory amid high drama.
Batting great Sachin Tendulkar led tributes to the team and said the quality of cricket on offer was “absolute goosebumps”.
“Series 2–2, Performance 10/10! SUPERMEN from INDIA! What a win,” the former India captain wrote on X.
England needed 35 runs on Monday to secure a 3-1 series win with four wickets in hand but Siraj struck three times to secure a famous victory for his team.
“In a nail-biting, riveting hour of cricket at England’s oldest test match ground, in characteristically cloudy Olde Blighty weather, India pulled off a historic heist,” the Hindustan Times newspaper wrote.
An Indian Express headline read “Miracles Do Happen” and the newspaper explained how Gill had stepped up as captain of a ‘gun team’.
The Hindu waxed eloquent on the “Mission accomplished”.
“After 25 days of riveting action, the best was saved for the last as Shubman Gil’s men rode Mohammed Siraj’s sensational spell to pull off a remarkable victory,” it said.
“It was a litmus test for an Indian team in transition but the young side showed heart and character as it fought back from tough situations to share the honours.”
(Reporting by Amlan Chakraborty in New Delhi; Editing by Clarence Fernandez)
