By Shaurya Dutt
London [UK], August 5 : Opener Yashasvi Jaiswal's former coach Jwala Singh shared his thoughts on the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy 2025 played between the Three Lions and India, which ended in a 2-2 draw after India clinched the Oval Test by six runs and termed it "one of the memorable wins" for the Indian cricket team.
In an absolute humdinger of a contest, inspirational spells from Mohammed Siraj and Prasidh Krishna helped India draw the five-match series against England, denying the hosts a series win, beating them by six runs while defending 374 runs, in an absolute thriller at The Oval on Monday.
With this win, the Shubman Gill-led Team India has started the new era with immense promise, drawing the series 2-2.
Speaking on India's victory in the fifth Test of the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy, Jwala Singh told ANI, "I think this is one of the memorable wins for the Indian cricket team and for whole Indian cricket because from last 18 years we could not win the series in England and we went there and we did not even draw the series. I think this is very close to winning the series. Drawing the series in England is quite achievable. We could have won the series 4-0 if you consider all those scenarios. That was the first test match, not the third one, which was a draw. I think with a bit more experience and luck, we could have won the series 4-0. I think this is an excellent draw perspective to Indian cricket, and I am very happy for this."
Gill, leading Team India for the first-time ever in whites with a team under transition without their senior players Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Ravichandran Ashwin, and Mohammed Shami, the youngster played one of the finest series as a captain with 774 runs and four centuries under his belt and led his team to a 2-2 series draw, which was just as good as a series win with the way a young side responded to immense pressure.
Also, Jwala Singh was full of praise for skipper Shubman Gill, who scored the record-breaking 774 runs with four centuries and produced "composed captaincy" under pressure.
"I think coming to England and scoring a hundred or a double-hundred is quite achievable, and anywhere, it's very hard to get. I believe he has made multiple records, and I am thrilled because we need someone, an established player who can play a whole series and maybe some other format as well, if you are picking a captain of the Indian cricket team. I think his performance speaks volumes about him. As a coach, as a mentor, I have seen a lot of players doing this earlier, but I think this is something special, being captain and scoring so many runs.
Getting close to Sunil Gavaskar's record is quite a good achievement. Memorable achievement, I must say," the 42-year-old expressed.
Woakes met with an injury in the 57th over of India's first innings. Stretching to make a dive at the boundary to save a run, Woakes was seen in discomfort, holding his shoulder. The England pacer would receive immediate inspection from the team physio and was forced off the field.
On Day 5, when the Three Lions were 357/9, Woakes came out to bat as the last batter with his injured arm tucked inside his sweater when England needed 20 runs, but managed to stay away from the strike with Gus Atkinson taking strike throughout.
Speaking on Woakes' commitment towards the game, Jwala Singh noted, "I think this is something really brave. If you are playing for the country, especially playing test matches where every performance, every record matters, it shows how committed he is to his team and to his country. Hats off to him."