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Time of India
5 days ago
- Sport
- Time of India
Where There's A Gill…
Where There's A Gill… Avijit Ghosh TNN Aug 04, 2025, 20:36 IST IST The new Team India proved it's a squad of unrelenting fighters in tough English conditions. Now, management must give the young talents a longer rope It happened again at the Oval. This is where Ajit Wadekar 's men had carved out India's historic, first-ever away victory over England in 1971. Nearly five-and-half decades later, Shubman Gill's young and fiery side produced a wondrous win in a Test where both the game's fate and the spectator's emotions swayed to unbearable extremes. Memories are made of this. The victory, by a T20-like margin of six runs which levelled the series 2-2, came from a position when all looked lost. The new Team India is a squad of unrelenting fighters. What made this five-Test series an affair to remember is that neither side yielded an inch. England, under lynchpin-leader Ben Stokes and Ollie Pope for the fifth Test, were equally indefatigable. Stokes bowled with a grade three shoulder muscle tear. Woakes walked out to the pitch arm under a sling, wincing in pain. Bashir with a finger fracture produced a match-winning decisive delivery. Indians also battled past the pain barrier. Pant batted with a fractured foot, even struck an outrageous boundary off paceman Archer. At times cricket felt like a heavyweight boxing duel: bodies bruised, spirit unyielding.
New Indian Express
30-07-2025
- Sport
- New Indian Express
A historic win and celebrating with a baby elephant: India's previous Oval successes
LONDON: It all started here at the Oval as far as India's first Test and series win on the English soil is concerned. Almost 54 years ago, Ajit Wadekar and Co managed to achieve what no other Indian team could in their previous 22 attempts, dating back to 1932. After two draws at Lord's and Old Trafford, the Wadekar-led team managed their first win on English soil. The occasion was momentous Indian fans even managed to sneak in a baby elephant named Bella on the final day of the match. Incidentally, it was Ganesh Chaturthi back home and the Indian team and their fans celebrated the historic moment with the baby elephant. The Oval might have given India their first taste of victory over England on their home turf but the venue could not be termed lucky for them as they drew the next five and lost the subsequent three matches before winning a contest here. After 50 years, they won a contest again as a Virat Kohli-led side beat the hosts by 157 runs in 2021.
Hindustan Times
30-07-2025
- Sport
- Hindustan Times
India must think out of the box to cash in at The Oval
London: The Oval in 1971 witnessed a quantum leap forward for Indian cricket. Ajit Wadekar's side won a Test match in England here for the first time to also triumph in the series. At this venerable venue south of River Thames which staged the first ever Test in England in 1880, India prevailed on their last visit as well, in 2021. It's a setting where, psychologically, Indian cricketers feel most at home in England. The Oval, in London is a setting where, psychologically, Indian cricketers feel most at home in England. (PTI) The tourists would, in fact, confront England in the finale of the current five-Test series in better mental and physical shape than their opponents. It was demoralising for the hosts that they failed to bowl India out in their second innings in the fourth Test at Old Trafford despite having more than five sessions of play at their disposal to execute the task on a wearing pitch. Besides, England's bowlers rather ran themselves into the ground, delivering 257.1 overs in the match and being compelled to be on their feet for much of the last two days. The mere three days of downtime before the showdown at The Oval renders recovery a challenging process. Indeed, the home team's captain Ben Stokes, after his Herculean feat of capturing five wickets in the Indian first innings and scoring a century, was virtually hors de combat with hamstring and shoulder niggles. In contrast, the Indian bowlers sent down exactly 100 fewer overs, were not required to operate in England's second innings and, so, were bestowed almost two extra days of recuperation. Over and above, the tourists' heroic escape from the depths of zero for two in their second venture was as morale-boosting as a victory. England opting for the second new ball suited India as the harder cherry reduced the possibility of lower bounce. Just as much as England will ponder over resorting to fresh legs in the final Test – and they have pacers Gus Atkinson and Jamie Overton to call upon – India will need to determine whether the leader of their fast bowling department, Jasprit Bumrah, with his brittle back, and Mohammed Siraj, who has played four Tests in five weeks and was erratic at Old Trafford, can be retained for a closing push in a crucial Test. Prasidh Krishna, who possesses extra pace and bounce, Akash Deep, a seamer who returned a match-winning haul of 10 wickets in the second Test at Edgbaston, and left-arm swing merchant Arshdeep Singh are all fit to step in as required. India's need for readjustment is caused by batsman-wicketkeeper Rishabh Pant's unavailability due to a foot fracture. However, an important reaffirmation at Old Trafford was Washington Sundar's potential as a batsman. It may be worth persevering with him at number five, where he batted in the second innings of the match to register a chanceless hundred. England's bowlers have, incidentally, been less effective against left-handers. Kuldeep Yadav's inclusion instead of Shardul Thakur is warranted. Indeed, ignoring this talented left-armer's claim against a unit who have historically been bamboozled by wrist spin might have cost India victory in the series. Bits and pieces cricketers don't win Test matches, neither does fear of defeat. Overall, pitches at The Oval are conducive to batting, with seamers deriving assistance from the new ball and spinners making their presence felt on the last two days. Bhagwat Chandrasekhar's rapid variety of freak wrist spin decimated England in 1971. Where finger spinners have made a limited impact because of an unusually dry English summer, Kuldeep's twirl, skid and bob off the wicket could well pose an examination for the Englishmen. Notwithstanding his brilliant batting, left-arm orthodox Ravindra Jadeja has over four series in England averaged an unimpressive 51 runs per scalp. Admittedly, India haven't played three spinners in a Test in England since 1990. But where the Indian bowling needs to conjure a coup de grace, an out-of-the-box approach, namely summoning Kuldeep's wicket-taking propensities, would be justified. Old Trafford could have culminated in a less honourable outcome, because of India's debatable choice of XI and skipper Shubman Gill's tactical inexperience. Sundar, picked as a bowling all-rounder, didn't get a look-in with the ball until the 69th over. Once Bumrah didn't break through with the new ball – which he hasn't for four innings in a row – India's became strangely a holding exercise. There was, for instance, no deployment of close catchers in front of the batsmen's eyes for the spinners. The prolific Joe Root seems destined to become the second highest century scorer and run-getter in Test history after Sachin Tendulkar. Clearly, India have to discover a method to curb his gluttonous tendencies. Kuldeep might just pose questions to him, which the other Indian bowlers, barring Bumrah occasionally, haven't. India are capable of squaring the series, and with it grabbing valuable away points in their quest to qualify for the 2027 World Test Championship final.
India.com
19-07-2025
- Sport
- India.com
9 Losses, 0 Wins: Shubman Gill Eyes To Break 89-Year Drought For India in Manchester Test, Heres How India Fared At This Ground
photoDetails english 2934132 Updated:Jul 19, 2025, 09:27 PM IST 89 Year Drought 1 / 10 India faces a significant challenge in the upcoming fourth Test against England at Old Trafford, Manchester. Historically, the Indian team has never secured a Test victory at this venue. Let's Take a look into India's past performances at Old Trafford. 1936 - A Maiden Draw 2 / 10 India's first Test at Old Trafford in 1936 ended in a draw. Under the captaincy of Maharajah of Vizianagram, the match concluded without a decisive result. This set the tone for a challenging record at the venue. 1946 - Post-War 3 / 10 Following World War II, India returned to Old Trafford in 1946, again playing to a draw. Iftikhar Ali Khan Pataudi led the side in this hard-fought contest. The match reflected the resilience of both teams. 1952 - A Heavy Defeat 4 / 10 The 1952 Test at Old Trafford marked India's first defeat at the venue, losing by an innings and 207 runs. Vijay Hazare captained the team during this challenging encounter. It remains India's biggest defeat by an innings at Old Trafford. 1959 - Another Setback 5 / 10 In 1959, India faced another defeat at Old Trafford, this time by 171 runs. Datta Gaekwad was the captain for this match. This loss was India's biggest by runs at the venue. 1971 - Ajit Wadekar's Draw 6 / 10 Under the leadership of Ajit Wadekar, India managed a draw at Old Trafford in 1971. This result showcased a period of competitive cricket for the Indian side. It was a testament to their fighting spirit. 1974 - A Familiar Outcome 7 / 10 Ajit Wadekar again captained India at Old Trafford in 1974, but the match resulted in another defeat, by 113 runs. This continued India's struggle for a win at the ground. Despite efforts, victory remained elusive. 1982 - Gavaskar's Draw 8 / 10 In 1982, Sunil Gavaskar led India to a draw at Old Trafford. This marked another instance of India avoiding defeat but failing to secure a win. Gavaskar himself was a top performer at the venue. 1990 - Azharuddin's High Score, Yet a Draw 9 / 10 Mohammad Azharuddin captained India in 1990, where India posted its highest total of 432/10 at Old Trafford. Azharuddin also recorded the highest individual score of 179 runs. Despite these efforts, the match ended in a draw. 2014 - Last Old Trafford Test 10 / 10 The most recent Test for India at Old Trafford was in 2014, under MS Dhoni's captaincy, resulting in an innings and 54-run defeat. This extended India's winless streak to nine matches at the venue. The team hopes to change this record soon.
Hans India
20-06-2025
- Sport
- Hans India
Shubman Gill set to lead through tough transition
A new captain, a headstrong coach, a few from the old guard and some fresh faces will be determined to create a compelling narrative during the next 45 days when an in-transition India takes on an equally combustible England in a five-Test series for the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy starting here on Friday. That only three Indian teams -- Ajit Wadekar's batch of 1971, Kapil's Devils in 1986 and Rahul Dravid's sprightly bunch in 2007 -- have won a Test series in Old Blighty in the past nine decades doesn't make for a rosy picture. Neither does the fact that India's most devoted long-format cricketer of the past decade, Virat Kohli, has walked into Test sunset making the batting line-up look slightly thin on experience. For the 25-year-old Shubman Gill, this series will be nothing short of baptism by fire against an England side, which has changed the conventions of Test match batting under Brendon McCullum's coaching and Ben Stokes' captaincy. Gill's selection as India's 37th Test captain was more about what one could expect of him rather than what he has done as a batter and a leader in the traditional format. The 'Prince' does have his plate full and has a lot to prove. An unusually warm Leeds (maximum temperature on Friday could be 29 degree celsius) and the 8mm grass laden 22-yard surface at the Headingley isn't exactly a paradise for England's proverbial 'Bazballers' but this series will be about which batting unit blinks first under pressure. England's batting with Joe Root, owner of 13,000 plus Test runs including 36 hundreds, looks superior on paper compared to India as the visiting team's most experienced batter is KL Rahul (58 Tests, 3257 runs). But the presence of a peerless Jasprit Bumrah in the Indian bowling unit puts the visitors on even keel. This despite the pace spearhead being available for only three Tests. Despite the absence of Kohli and Rohit Sharma, who played his best Test cricket in the 2021 series, this could be India's best chance to put pressure on an English bowling line-up that wouldn't have the quality that James Anderson and Stuart Broad brought for two decades. While Karun Nair's comeback seems to be a given if one went by slip cordon's composition during practice, where he was stationed at first slip, there will be one more batting slot that needs to be fretted upon. Then there is the lure of playing Kuldeep Yadav, who can turn the ball irrespective of surfaces, but Ravindra Jadeja despite his shortcomings as a left-arm spinner in SENA countries is still a solid No. 7 batter.
