CHENNAI: JAMIE Smith had just smacked Akash Deep into the stands in the 56th over. Much like he had throughout the first innings, Smith had taken on every time the ball was in his zone no matter the situation. The last time he got out in this series was 13 days ago on Day Three of the first Test in Leeds.
Here, on the final day of the Edgbaston Test, batting on 88 off 98 balls, Smith was once again standing between India and a historic victory. This time, however, India had the luxury of runs and England, just as they did in the first innings, were only delaying the inevitable.
On the fourth ball of the 56th over, Akash Deep kept it short again, but this time with the lack of pace Smith ended up top-edging it and Washington Sundar completed a simple catch in the deep.
Akask Deep finally has his moment of the match. He had taken a five-wicket haul — his first in the format and in international cricket — after finishing with four wickets in the first innings. As the bowler raised his hand with the ball, acknowledging the moment, he received a tight hug from his fellow pacer Mohammed Siraj, the leader of the attack. Siraj, in fact, had asked Akash Deep if he should bowl defensively so that the Bengal pacer could take a fifer only 48 hours ago. But Akash Deep knew that it was only a matter of time before he earned it. And he did so in style on Day Five of the second Test.
He did not stop there. Akash Deep went on to take the final wicket, that of Brydon Carse, with another top-edge to etch his name in the history books. A ten-wicket haul for an Indian in England for the first time since 1986 at the venue.
Fittingly, it was captain Shubman Gill who took the final catch and threw it as high and far as possible before letting out a roar. He knew this was his match. This was the moment the world will remember when they think about Gill's arrival as Test captain. 430 runs in the match (second-most in the history of Test cricket), a double century and a 150 in the same match, almost 600 runs in four Test innings (585) — this was Gill telling not just the cricketing world but also his teammates that he is their leader and he is here to stay.
Once Gill set the tone with the bat, his teammates followed. Siraj stood up in the absence of Jasprit Bumrah to take a six-fer, Prasidh Krishna bowled tight lines in the second innings after an expensive spell on day three, Akash Deep went one step further to write his name on the honours board and then of course the batting depth coming to the fore. One could still argue that India should have played Kuldeep Yadav in place of one of their three all-rounders, and it might happen in three days' time at Lord's.
However, this match is not about that. This match was all about Gill making a statement; first with the bat and then as a captain. Ask him if this is the best he has ever batted in Test cricket, Gill kept his eyes on the target, which is winning the series. "I am definitely feeling comfortable with my game and if we are able to win the series with my contributions, it'll be great. As I said before, I want to play as a batter, and go out as a batter and make decisions as a batter. Sometimes you won't take some risks when you're thinking as a captain which you have to do as a batter," he said after the 336-run victory.
Lord's will not be as flat as Edgbaston or Headingley. But India will have Bumrah and the scoreline going into the match will read 1-1. It was only possible because when push came to shove at Edgbaston, Gill's India came out all guns blazing and registered a victory that will go down in the history books.
