Incredible India! That may sound like some link from a Government Tourism promotional effort! But this phrase captures the moment of the Manchester Test match after India forced England to an improbable draw. Another match that spread over the stipulated five days, something that needed to be stressed for such has been the pattern of Test matches in recent times with contests ending earlier. Manchester too seemed heading for a match-finish in four days but the incredible happened, thanks to two lion hearted batters, Ravindra Jadeja and Washington Sundar. Imagine facing an arrears of over 300 runs and then losing two wickets with not a run on the scoreboard, none at that moment would have fancied India saving the Test let alone aspiring for a draw in the least. Memories of a crumbling batting would have raced back to the minds of many a cricketer lover for there have been such disasters for India in the past.

Perhaps these different times. This has been an Indian team with a new thinking process and perhaps fresh perspective that is strong on self-belief. “Never lose heart” is the underlining factor in each batter’s approach and a sample of this came in the previous Test at Lords. India was........

© Mathrubhumi English