India pass the transition test, but with quite a few lessons to learn

Gill and allrounder Sundar were big positives, playing Kamboj and not picking Kuldeep wasn’t

- Somshuvra Laha [e-mail]

KOLKATA: In January, an India team with a multi-star cast lost the Test series in Australia 1-3 with skipper Rohit Sharma missing the first Test and sitting out of the last, Ravichandran Ashwin shocking the world by retiring midway, Jasprit Bumrah breaking down in the final game and Virat Kohli going off the boil after starting with a hundred in Perth. Seven months on, India have squared a series in England without Kohli, Sharma and Ashwin, the two wins coming in Tests not featuring Bumrah, one of them without Rishabh Pant as well, and amid a lot of criticism over a cautious selection strategy that denied Kuldeep Yadav a game.

It was also a sensational coming of age for Shubman Gill, breaking Sunil Gavaskar’s record of most runs by an Indian captain in a Test series. Most balls faced, most hundreds in the series and a stupendous average of 75.4, Gill was everything India wanted from their new captain.

The other batting successes have been equally comforting. In Washington Sundar, India have found an allrounder willing to graft for valuable partnerships when not drawing batters out of their crease with loopy off-breaks. And once again, Ravindra Jadeja proved his worth with five fifties and a resilient, unbeaten hundred that allowed India to draw the Manchester Test and take the series into the final game at The Oval, and square the contest 2-2.