In the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic, India overcame tremendous challenges to achieve a stunning second consecutive series victory in Australia in January 2021. They then rebounded from their defeat in the first Test in Chennai against England to propel themselves to a 3-1 victory in March, earning them a spot in the World Test Championship final against New Zealand in June.

A sizable group set out for Southampton to try to win the one trophy that had not yet been in their cabinet, but they were disappointed when the Kiwis won by eight wickets with ease because of the quarantine restrictions. India would begin their new WTC cycle with five straight Tests in England, but their first match in Nottingham wouldn't take place for another month and a half.

The decision was made that the players would not go home because England had started to regain some semblance of normalcy, while India was still reeling from the devastating impact of the second wave. The team gathered for a ten-day camp in Durham before the first Test after a few weeks of rest and relaxation. The game ended in a draw as a result of the weather's interference.

The first innings was dominated by a KL Rahul masterclass.

Then it was on to Lord's, and Act Two of what would prove to be a fascinating series. Rohit Sharma's continued dedication to the role of the 'traditional' opener during the Durham camp paid off with scores of 36 and 12 not out at Trent Bridge. At Lord's, he increased his performance with a smooth 83, partnering with centurion KL Rahul for 126 for the first wicket to counter Joe Root's choice to put India in.

India scored 331 for five as James Anderson—who else?—set off a spectacular collapse that saw five wickets fall for just 33 runs. Rahul was in great contact, and the others batted around him as they looked for a total of more than 400. England gained a slim advantage through Root's unbeaten 180 and his century partnership with Jonny Bairstow when Jasprit Bumrah chose to accelerate the pace.

The English were not entertained by a succession of bouncers aimed at last man Anderson, and Bumrah's four no-balls in a single over, in which he struck the No. 11 on his helmet and other areas of his body, as well as the Indian champion's 13 no-balls overall, did not improve their frame of mind either. The hosts were buzzing by the time Mohammed Shami swept up Anderson with England leading by 27 late on day three.

With England having their noses in front, a shaken Anderson went wicketless, but Mark Wood jolted the Indian top order as the tourists faltered to 181 for six at the end of day four, a lead of 208. The key wicket was Rishabh Pant, who was 14 overnight, but India was in serious difficulty at 209 for eight when he and Ishant Sharma were dismissed at the start of day five, just 15 runs apart.

"60 Overs of Hell"

England swarmed all over Bumrah as he strolled in, responding to the greeting with a deluge of short balls, like a bull seeing a red rag. Anderson later confessed that he had let his emotions overwhelm him. As England fell apart, Shami was having a great time on the other end, while Bumrah seized the short balls perfectly and played powerful shots when the ball was pitched up. Ten minutes after lunch, Virat Kohli brought the ninth-wicket stand to 89 by hitting a six to reach his second Test fifty. He then set England 272 for victory in a possible 60 overs of 'hell,' as Virat Kohli famously put it during the huddle.

This was in the pre-Bazball era and England were in the middle of a horror run in Test cricket. Any thoughts they might have entertained of making a fist of it evaporated within ten deliveries of their chase when Bumrah and Shami accounted for openers Rory Burns and Dom Sibley respectively with just one run on the board. From there on, it was a desperate struggle for survival with Root again central to the hosts’ designs of emerging unscathed.

Bumrah produced a beauty to dismiss the England captain in the first over after tea. India were buzzing and a large pro-Indian crowd drove the team on. Bumrah was sensational – his dismissal of Ollie Robinson with a slower ball was mesmeric – and Mohammed Siraj reprised his four-wicket haul of the first innings, disturbing Anderson’s furniture with 49 deliveries still remaining. England were shot out for 120 in just 51.5 overs as India pulled a rabbit out of the hat, riding on belief and the strength of their pace attack to race home to a 151-run triumph.

Brief scores

India: 364 all out in 126.1 overs (Rohit Sharma 83, KL Rahul 129, Virat Kohli 42, Rishabh Pant 37, Ravindra Jadeja 40; James Anderson 5-62, Ollie Robinson 2-73, Mark Wood 2-91) and 298/8 decl. in 109.3 overs (Cheteshwar Pujara 45, Ajinkya Rahane 61, Mohammed Shami 56 n.o., Jasprit Bumrah 34 n.o.; Robinson 2-45, Wood 3-51, Moeen Ali 2-84) beat England: 391 all out in 128 overs (Rory Burns 49, Joe Root 180 n.o., Jonny Bairstow 57, Moeen 27; Ishant Sharma 3-69, Shami 2-95, Mohammed Siraj 4-94) and 120 all out in 51.5 overs (Root 33, Jos Buttler 25; Bumrah 3-33, Siraj 4-32, Ishant 2-13) by 151 runs. Player of the Match: KL Rahul.

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