India clawed back in thrilling fashion to square the series 2-2. ©Getty
There's been a familiar refrain at the end of the recent India-England series. Someone invariably steps up to say the final scoreline doesn't quite tell the story. Think back to 2018, when India lost 1-4 but Sam Curran was the sliver of difference between them and at least two more wins in Birmingham and Southampton. Think 2021 in India, when Ravi Shastri insisted the scoreline didn't reflect how hard England had pushed his bubble-weary team, still riding high on their historic triumph in Australia.
Even last year, when India won 4-1 at home, there were murmurings that the Bazballers had pushed them closer than the result suggested. So in that context, there seems to be rare agreement that 2-2 is a just scoreline for a series that swayed both ways, decided as much by moments as by the men.
India should celebrate what was, by every measure, a truly stirring series. They should take pride in this 2-2, and how they achieved it with a side clearly in transition and under a young new captain. Theirs is a team still learning how its moving parts might click together into something greater. The wait for a series win in England since 2007 may stretch on, but winning two Tests and drawing level, under the circumstances, is no small feat.
But once the applause fades, the introspection must also begin. India are now winless in three straight Test series and even with the miracle of The Oval, have just won three of their last 13 Tests.
After that historic six-run win at The Oval, Shubman Gill allowed himself a moment to glance at the future. He didn't get into specifics about what the series had taught him or what he still had to learn in his five-game tenure as captain. But both he and head coach Gautam Gambhir will need to begin charting a path forward for India's Test cricket.
On the surface, the series finishing all square felt fair, because it was a contest between two evenly matched, equally flawed teams. Both carry frailties in the bowling department, the part of the game that ultimately wins you Tests. England are still in search of a bowling identity in the post-Anderson-and-Broad era, trying to find one that aligns with their playing philosophy and the kinds of home surfaces they trust. Ironically, these very pitches place relentless demands on their seamers. Their spate of injuries in recent years is not all
