Test Cricket sees its most enthralling 56 minutes in 148-year history as England and India’s series touched rare heights.
The agony, the ecstasy: 56 minutes of Test cricket at its most glorious.
The wildest rollercoaster of your goddamn life, lasting 56 minutes. 56 minutes that will permanently alter your life.
Enough time for new heroes to be believed. Time enough to praise the elderly ones. Enough time to experience heartbreak. You have enough time to feel fortunate that you were given Test cricket, which has been passed down through the generations more than it is ever picked up by the younger ones. Enough time to discover an entirely new universe.
Test cricket was 100% pure, unadulterated, and unhinged. A shot of 56 minutes was all that was required. No human body could have handled much more, not even those raised on it, including those outside supplying the activity.
Long before this match threatened to overshadow Sunday’s longer-form pandemonium, the fifth day at the Kia Oval was sold out. Surrey sold more than 5,000 Day 5 tickets in a day after the thrilling conclusion of the third Test at Lord’s, across the river. In the end, 17,545 gamblers held what would turn out to be the most valuable of tickets.
When the players took the pitch, the noise level was higher than it had been during the entire game. When Jamie Overton hit the first ball for four, the English roars were more ferocious. When victory was assured in Mohammed Siraj’s 186th over of the series, the Indian celebrations came crashing to a halt.
Given that 301 of the 374 had been cleared so easily, how in the world did 35 more runs become an impossible task? When has overcoming a challenge that involves a man with only one working arm been accompanied by genuinely eternal legacy-making benefits and, hence, unfathomable pressure?
There were also easier questions. Who desired it? And the question we were all asking: could anyone handle it?
The idea that Test cricket is a worldwide force at its best is a common cliché. occurring to humans in ways they cannot understand or control.
However, that is detrimental to the main characters. To Harry Brook and Joe Root, who elevated this fourth inning to the status of a classic. Last but not least, Siraj bowled on 18 of the 25 days of these five Test matches, hitting 50 balls or more on 12 of those days. At 89 mph/143 kph, his fifth-fastest delivery of all time was his 1,122nd one (including extra balls), which was sent down with the same ferocity as the previous 1,121. And the eternally living one.
You always have heroes in moments like these. They give you kindred souls, nevertheless. You are attracted to people because of their bravery as much as their frailty.
With his palms still hurting from Gus Atkinson’s heave to cow, Akash Deep lies face down in the green beyond the boundary at midwicket, wondering if he could be held accountable for an upcoming defeat. As Siraj and Shubman Gill chastised him for missing the stumps, Dhruv Jurel wished for the same turf to engulf him.
the victory in the series, doubled over, and smelt the dirt where his off-stump once was. With his arm guard on his ‘wrong’ side and his dislocated left shoulder taped to his body, Chris Woakes is a lionhearted player who plans to bat southpaw. He is held in place by a sleeveless jumper.
Was the score of 2-2 fair? Overall, yeah. However, it might be considered a mistake for England to have failed to punch their card for a hat-trick of 370-plus chases against India after being 301 for 3 and 332 for 4.
Even though they will have their own problems after a lengthy tour, that only serves to highlight India’s achievement of levelling the series. Their batting needs to learn from their bowling in order to gain control of sessions that are going against them, and selection choices are still erratic.
Coincidentally, Monday was the 20th anniversary of the start of the England vs. Australia Edgbaston Test in 2005. A test that, in the end, determines an Ashes series that is considered the best in history.
The narrowest margin of victory for England was two runs. India won theirs by a margin of six here in 2025. Perhaps the cosmos has a plan.
Throughout these five Test matches, many have questioned if the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy could compete with the awards from 2005. It did in these 56 minutes.