India, England and the beauty of an unexpected finale

6th September, 2021. India have travelled to The Oval to clash swords with England, finding themselves comfortably placed in the game. Courtesy of their mammoth third-innings, they’ve ensured that only two results are possible. However, with the pitch being flat and not many demons surfacing, chances are that England will have enough to scrape through to a stalemate.

For a major chunk of the first session, it seems that that narrative is going to transpire. Haseeb Hameed and Rory Burns have set out their stall and have thwarted everything India have thrown at them. But then, just like that, an inevitable batting collapse begins.

Burns falls to Shardul Thakur. Dawid Malan gets run out on a placid track. Hameed gets cleaned up by Ravindra Jadeja too. Jasprit Bumrah enters the equation next and castles Jonny Bairstow and Ollie Pope with a pair of mind-boggling deliveries.

So, England, who were seemingly coasting towards a draw, suddenly start plummeting towards a defeat. And, what seemed like a fruitful venture morphs into another futile cause. For India, though, it is just another illustration of how they can never be written off and how they, irrespective of the conditions and the opposition, always have the wherewithal to mount a comeback.

A year later, both teams seem to be on slightly different ends of the spectrum.

India and England will complete the series that began in 2021 at Edgbaston

India haven’t lost tons of Test matches but they did go down to South Africa at the turn of the year, despite being in positions to win it. Virat Kohli has since stepped down as skipper and new captain Rohit Sharma has come down with COVID-19. KL Rahul, long viewed as the de-facto heir to Kohli and Rohit, is currently recovering in Munch from a groin injury, and Bumrah, who will line up in a dashing blue-shaded India blazer if Rohit is not deemed fit, has never captained in any sort of senior cricket.

India, as the phrase would go, aren’t really in turmoil. They aren’t really in as much shambles as England were last summer. But they aren’t that settled either. With the Men In Blue, you’d usually be able to pin-point the players that would feature and possibly star in any particular game. As many as eight players that participated at The Oval last year might still turn up, although it feels that they have more moving parts than they’ve had in recent times.

England, on the other hand, have fully embraced Bazball, which for those unaware, is the new buzzword for the brand of cricket they’ve played under new head coach Brendon McCullum. Ben Stokes has been just as pivotal, though, often leading the way and sacrificing his wicket to get his message across.

It's reaped instant rewards too. Against New Zealand, England were put to the sword numerous times. Had those happened last summer, they would’ve wilted and would’ve handed over the initiative to the Kiwis. This time out, they’ve fought fire with fire and made people question how far this England team can go. Not in terms of forecasting the next nadir they will hit, but in terms of how high their ceiling can be – a marked difference from 2021.

Apart from both teams’ cricketing fortunes, there have been plenty of other changes as well. Post the 4th Test at The Oval, there was a COVID-19 scare in the Indian camp – one that ultimately led to the 5th Test being postponed/rescheduled/cancelled. None of the players had tested positive back then, although they were in bio-bubbles.

In 2022, Rohit has tested positive for COVID-19 and this Test is, without doubt, going to go ahead. It has thrown India’s preparation into disarray but there’s no talk of this game being postponed to next year or the tour being abandoned altogether. It might not be this dramatic but you kind of get the point, right?

COVID-19 has become an inevitable reality sporting culture has acclimatized to. It’s not as if COVID-19 has completely disappeared from the horizon. It’s just that teams, countries and cricket boards know how to tackle it and create a workaround.

Had this been the case a year ago, this series would’ve gotten the conclusion it deserved, and would’ve even tweaked the way the cricketing narrative has panned out. Maybe Kohli might not have stepped down after a series defeat in South Africa. Maybe England might’ve hired McCullum a lot quicker. Maybe Bairstow, who was in a wretched run of form back then, might not have played another Test for England.

None of it matters now, though. This might not have been the finale many expected this series would veer to. But after everything that happened in 2021, it is probably the bare minimum.

In an ideal world, India and this version of England would’ve wanted to battle for bragging rights across a three-Test series (or even more). That, however, might be pushing it, considering both boards have found time to accommodate a game that could’ve (or even should have) happened when it was slated to.

England won’t mind, considering they are a vastly different outfit. They now know what makes them tick and the fear of failure, which accompanied them at every step in 2021, seems to have vanished into thin air.

India, too, with the resources at their disposal, might not look at this Test with trepidation. They might have a new captain at the helm but some of their players – the likes of Bumrah, Kohli, Jadeja, Mohammed Shami and of course, Rishabh Pant, remain genuine match-winners.

When India trampled over England at The Oval in September 2021, it felt that India would crush the hosts and write themselves into cricketing folklore. They could still do so, mind you. The Men In Blue haven’t won a Test series on these shores since 2007. But it could very easily turn pear-shaped too, especially after the fate New Zealand were subjected to against England.

Back then, an England collapse and them plummeting to a new nadir seemed inevitable. It also seemed that India could pull a victory out of the fire at any stage. Roles haven’t exactly been reversed heading into Edgbaston. But they most certainly aren’t similar. That's probably the beauty of it too!