It’s a victory that would rank with the finest for India and the circumstances and margin will make it more special. However, India will have to wait till the final day after their roll was turned into a battle of attrition initiated by two unlikely England batsmen in the Trent Bridge Test.
Jasprit Bumrah fast forwarded India towards their target, snapping four wickets with the new ball to claim five in the innings, seven in all, in a superb comeback from injury.
But England’s last wicket pair of Adil Rashid and James Anderson held out in the extended 30 minutes to keep India waiting till the last day. England were 311/9, 209 runs behind.
Skipper Virat Kohli, hands clasped behind the back at third slip, watched his bowlers toil for well over four hours as Jos Buttler and Ben Stokes produced a mini-epic. India broke the resistance once the second new ball gave them more ammunition to attack on a pitch offering little help.
Jos Buttler’s maiden Test century (106 – 176 b, 21×4) and his 169-run partnership with Ben Stokes (62 – 187b, 6×4) showed the batting fight England had demanded. It looked unlikely when India reduced the innings to 62/4 in the morning. They had given themselves a 520-run cushion on Day 3 to win and narrow the series lead to 1-2.
Ishant Sharma removed both left-handed openers Alastair Cook and Keaton Jennings and Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Shami got skipper Joe Root and Ollie Pope respectively playing poor shots.
Buttler and Stokes are two men facing questions and known to play aggressively. They dug in and easing conditions helped. Shami found reverse swing, but with off-spinner R Ashwin struggling with a groin injury, the wearing pitch could not be exploited.
Kohli, whose patient batting has stood out in this Test, showed little frustration, confident something would give at some point. It did once the new ball was taken.
Bumrah made it work like a dream. He trapped Buttler in the third over as he shouldered arms, and once the big stand ended, he bowled Jonny Bairstow – batting with a broken finger – first ball to be on a hat-trick.
Chris Woakes denied him but was for the second time in the Test forced to fend a short ball to wicketkeeper Rishabh Pant. When Hardik Pandya got Stokes caught at slip, Ishant Sharma carried his younger teammate.
India could have wrapped it up earlier if Pant had not put down Buttler on 1, a low chance to his left off Bumrah. Buttler and Stokes didn’t offer a real chance until the new ball arrived.
It was sort of redemption for Stokes and Buttler. There have been questions since Buttler was drafted into the Test side for the previous series against Pakistan on the basis of his IPL form. A match-winning 80 at Leeds didn’t end questions when he was named vice-captain for this series.
Stokes’ bowling was key in the narrow win at Edgbaston, though the hearing for affray charges were to follow. He was acquitted by a Bristol court, but has still faced criticism in the British media for not as much as issuing a public apology before returning.
In the end, ninth wicket pair Adil Rashid — dropped by Kohli on 22 off Shami — and Stuart Broad played freely on an easy pitch under the sun. Bumrah got Broad but Anderson survived.
Skipper Virat Kohli scored 97 and 103 to guide India’s batting while the pace bowlers led by Hardik Pandya skittled out England for 161 in one session on Day 2.