Momentum with India, Pant absence a big loss

Question before the big Oval game: Which captain slept soundly last night and who tossed and turned in the bed?

- Amrit Mathur

After Old Trafford, Shubman Gill must have had a restful night in his St James's hotel suite while Ollie Pope, England's stand-in skipper, must have been troubled by uncomfortable thoughts.

Which is not surprising considering that England must be scarred after India’s great escape in the fourth Test. Failure to close a game from a dominant position is likely to haunt them. On Day 4 with five sessions to go, with two wickets down for zero, with a team 311 behind, it was certain doom for India. The same dreadful situation a tennis player faces when 2-5, 0-40 down in the fifth set. England was like the nervous golfer who misses a 12-inch putt on the 18th hole on the final day to finish second.

From India’s standpoint this was a dream game. Epic fourth innings resistance, a score of over 400 with three batters making hundreds, two of those from bowling allrounders. It is said winning is a habit and good teams have a way of winning, finding a way even from hopeless situations. India just tweaked that timeless wisdom: a good team has a way of avoiding defeat, finding a way to get out of the hole they were pushed into.