The visiting Indian squad could only manage a draw against England in the fourth Test of the ongoing series, but it was still a triumph for the team, which had previously appeared out of the game. From there, magnificent performances by KL Rahul, Shubman Gill, Ravindra Jadeja, and Washington Sundar set the stage for one of the most glorious displays of batting under pressure in recent memory.
Meanwhile, India’s head coach, Gautam Gambhir, was as fiery as usual at the post-game press conference following the draw at Old Trafford. Gambhir made it obvious that the Indian squad thinks as a unit, and while they made history by drawing a game that seemed lost,
He also believes that the team is fighting for the Indian common man.
“The first thing is that I don’t remember any of my knocks; they’ve become history. I believe they are creating their own history. Honestly, no one on this team will or wants to follow anyone. They are creating their own history. They want to battle for the average man back home,” the head coach stated following the game.
“And the most important thing is that, despite the fact that many people dismissed us in this Test match, this is the foundation of this team. “These are characters who are sitting in this dressing room, wanting to fight for their country, and they will continue to do so,” he added.
After going two down without scoring a run, the Indian team was under immense pressure, and a series defeat appeared nearly imminent. From there, Rahul and skipper Gill formed a superb 188-run partnership for the third wicket. While Rahul failed to reach 100, the Indian captain went on to score his fourth century of the series.
The coach doesn’t want to take anything for granted
After their dismissals, it was the southpaw duo of Jadeja and Sundar that aggregated a staggering 203 runs for the fifth wicket, batting for nearly a couple of sessions without taking any unnecessary risks. Both the batters reached their respective hundreds and finally shook hands with England to call the game off, as it resulted in a draw. Gambhir said that this game will give the entire team the much-needed confidence going into the fifth Test.
“When you’re put under the pressure, when you’re put under the pump, and you end up adding five sessions, I think that’s a great character. And anything that you do in these conditions, to come out of those pressure moments, it is always a great feeling. And it just ends up giving a lot of confidence in the dressing room. And I’m sure, I think going into Oval, we will be high on confidence, but we can’t take anything for granted,” he told.
The fifth and final Test of the series is set to be played at The Oval in London, starting July 31. India must win this game to save themselves from what could be their third-consecutive series defeat in the format.
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