London [UK], August 4 : Following India's memorable win against England and the team levelling the intensely-fought series, Indian skipper Shubman Gill said that the scoreline of the five-match series is fair as it was not clear till the very last day which team would win.
Gill, who has been adjudged as the 'Player of the Series' from the visitors' side, also spoke of the changes he made in his batting ahead of the series.
Gill dominated the series against England, emerging as a top-run-getter with 774 runs at an average of 75.40, with four centuries and a best score of 269. Besides breaking plenty of records with the bat, he also delivered a fine debut as a captain and Indian team dominated England in their own territory several times in the series.
"I think the way both the teams played in the entire series, every day coming on day four, day five, never really knowing which team is going to win, really shows that both the teams came up with their A-game and very happy to get over the line in this one. Most definitely (if the scoreline is fair). Like I said, both teams are coming on day five, never really knowing which team is going to win. This shows how passionate both the teams were and how much good cricket both the teams played throughout the series," Gill said during the post-match presentation,
Gill also said that it feels "rewarding and satisfying" to be the best batter of the series, considering the amount of hard work he put in before the series on the batting front.
"There were certain things that I wanted to work on as a batsman, and it was my goal to be able to be the best batter of the series. And to be able to accomplish that goal feels very satisfying and rewarding. (On whether he made technical or mental changes before the series) Always both, always a combination of both. I think once you are sorted mentally, you would be in a good space, but you are only sorted mentally when you're feeling technically correct. So I think they are somewhat correlated. If you feel like you're getting in good positions, you are always mentally more stable," he concluded.
After England opted to bowl first, they reduced India to 153/6. A 58-run partnership between Karun Nair (57 in 109 balls, with eight fours) and Washington Sundar (26 in 55 balls, with three fours) was the most meaningful part of the inning as India was bundled out for 224 runs. Apart from Gus Atkinson's five-wicket haul, Josh Tongue (3/57) was also good.
In the second innings, four-fers from Siraj (4/86) and Prasidh Krishna (4/62) reduced England to 247, despite a 92-run opening stand between Zak Crawley (64 in 57 balls, with 14 fours) and Ben Duckett (43 in 38 balls, with five fours and two sixes) and a fifty by Harry Brook (53 in 64 balls, with five fours and a six). They led by 23 runs.
In India's second innings, key contributions came from Yashasvi Jaiswal (118 in 164 balls, with 14 fours and two sixes), Akash Deep (66 in 94 balls, with 12 fours), Ravindra Jadeja (53 in 77 balls, with five fours) and Washington Sundar (53 in 46 balls, with four boundaries and four sixes). Sundar stitched a very crucial 10th wicket stand with Krishna, with the latter scoring nothing out of it and Sundar doing all the hitting.
They all took India to 396 runs, giving them a 373-run lead and setting a target of 374 runs for England to win the series.
India started well, reducing England to 106/3. However, fine centuries from Harry Brook (111 in 98 balls, with 14 fours and two sixes) and Joe Root (105 in 152 balls, with 12 fours) troubled India with a 195-run stand for the fourth wicket. At one point, England was 317/4 on day four. However, a late surge by Siraj (5/104) and Krishna (4/126) shifted the pressure to England, and they were left six runs short, bundled out for 367 runs.
The series is drawn 2-2, reflecting the true nature of how well-fought the series was. The Shubman Gill era has started with immense promise and fight, giving signs of a bright future.