CHENNAI: Rewind to August 2014. "Five sessions and not five days have been enough to nail them. But move on we must. Sit back and watch if these glam boys are ready for penance. If they are prepared to plunge their bare hands into the coal of fire and start from scratch.” – Ravi Shastri in his column in a national daily.
This was just hours before the BCCI handed over the reins of the Indian team to Shastri, following a heavy Test series defeat in England. It was a team led by MS Dhoni. Seven years later there is absolutely no trace of the side that was so defensive, struggling to close out matches. That team even let James Anderson score his first and only half-century so far of his career.
Nine from that side are part of India's squad for the World Test Championship final, and eight of them will take the field on Friday to face New Zealand at the Ageas Bowl, weather permitting. It culminates a journey for a side that has seen several ups and downs, but one that has never stopped going from strength to strength.
From the time Kohli took charge to the end of the last England tour in 2018, India seldom looked settled. Their thought process, especially when it comes to picking the right XI, has been questionable at times. Players, especially batsmen, have played almost every Test with a knife hanging over their heads. They have dropped players, who would have been a certainty in other teams. They have been roasted for being too arrogant at times when it comes to handling criticism. At times even Shastri's hyperboles have come back to haunt them.
In that sense, the WTC cycle arrived at the right time for India. Whatever flaws they had had up until then, they have gone about addressing them. It's included guaranteeing a spot. Both Cheteshwar Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane are cases in point. They have chosen to be more bold, making Rohit Sharma open in Tests. And towards the end of the WTC cycle, they have found their X-factor — a piece that was missing in their ranks — in Rishabh Pant.
For four years running, they have been the No 1 ranked Test side in the world and should they win the final, it will be icing on the cake. “For me this is another Test match that has to be played,” captain Kohli said. “If you are deciding Test cricket on the basis of one game over a period of five days, that's not the reality or the truth. It's not going to reflect anything for people who understand the game and know what exactly has gone on in the last four to five years. For us as a team, we have been on a quest of excellence for a while and will continue to be on that path regardless of what happens in that game. We have won the 2011 World Cup and cricket goes on just like life goes on. You have to treat success and failure in the same way,” he said.
In the same column, Shastri had asked whether the Indian team was ready to do “penance.” Seven years later, one can definitely say this team has made up for not just that series. It achieved a rare feat of winning a Test series in Australia in 2018/19, and bettered it 2021 against all odds, with a bunch of young turks, who have now adopted to the philosophy of a side that plays aggressive cricket. Through the course of the World Test Championship, India have been the team to beat. And at Southampton, it will be no different, how much ever Kohli tries to underplay the importance of the final and the Test.