Top three positives for India from the historic England Test tour

India made a miraculous comeback out of nowhere in the Kia Oval Test to salvage a hard-fought 2-2 series draw against England. For a new Test side that is currently undergoing transition under the new leadership of Shubman Gill, this monumental effort from them has certainly bolstered India's legacy and positioning in the ongoing World Test Championship (WTC) cycle.

On the final day of the fifth Test, India pulled off a comeback for the ages and turned the tables on England to emerge victorious in the final Test of the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy series. In a nail-biting thriller, Mohammed Siraj, who had been hard done by on a number of occasions throughout the course of the series, held his nerves and crushed the hosts by a magnificent five-fer to hand India a narrow six-run victory.

This series has helped India uncover some unprecedented positives. From Gill's supremacy as a red-ball skipper to Siraj's extraordinary resilience with the ball, the list goes on. But in this article, we will dig in to explore India's top three positives from the recently concluded England test tour, which will certainly hold them in good stead for years to come.

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Gill establishes himself as a resilient red-ball skipper

Speaking of revelations from this historic Test tour, Shubman Gill's name comes at the top. The young Indian captain fared exceptionally well in his maiden Test assignment for India. Although India did not manage to get their hands on the prestigious Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy, Gill has certainly achieved what his earlier predecessors had failed to achieve in the prior Test tours to England. Bold personalities such as Ms Dhoni and Virat Kohli captained the Indian side in the 2014 and 2018 Test series, but without any success as India went on to register crushing defeats.

But Gill has certainly done his team and his country proud by salvaging a hard-fought series draw in a country that has traditionally been hostile to the visiting teams. Although he was heavily criticised for his tactics during the Manchester test, which allowed England to cruise to a comfortable 669, he did not allow the criticism to affect his composure. And when the deciding Test arrived, Gill silenced his critics by helping India snatch a near-impossible victory from England's hands. Keeping his leadership skills aside, Gill also let his willow do the talking and finished as the highest run scorer of the Test series. In 10 innings, the 26-year-old accumulated a record 754 runs and, by doing so, has eclipsed the legendary Sunil Gavaskar's record of scoring the most Test runs as an Indian captain in England.

More bowling resources apart from Bumrah

Indian ace pacer Jasprit Bumrah's availability was certainly the talk of the town ahead of the series. It was understood that Bumrah would only feature in three out of the five Test matches, citing workload management. Concerns began pouring in as soon as the world spread. On helpful seam-friendly decks, Bumrah's position in the team was seen as indispensable, and keeping him out of the team for even a single game seemed unthinkable. But thankfully, India's raw pace-bowling attack came good in the absence of Bumrah.

In fact, India did not go on to win a single game in which Bumrah participated. This goes to show that India's overdependence on Bumrah for away tours has subsided, and for very good reasons. He may have the X-factor like no other bowler in the world, but the other rookie Indian pacers have shown how it is done. In his absence, Siraj spearheaded the young Indian pace attack and led them valiantly. The Hyderabad-born pacer ended up having a dream series, finishing as the highest-wicket taker.

Apart from Siraj, Prasidh Krishna turned out to be another class act with the ball. Both Krishna and Siraj put on a fiery exhibition with the ball to sink England on the final day of the Test series in emphatic fashion. Besides, Siraj and Prasidh, Akash Deep has also shown signs of promise, though he will need to work more on mastering his exploits with the old ball to preserve his longevity in the longest format.

Reliable middle order

If there is something that would please Gautam Gambhir & Co. the most is the fact that the Indian middle order ended the tour in a dominating fashion. Unlike previous Test tours, India's middle order showed very few to no signs of vulnerability. The likes of Washington Sundar and Ravindra Jadeja were not only amongst the wickets but were also amongst the runs. Jadeja batted like a frontline batter and churned 516 runs at an unbelievable average of 87, which includes his match-saving century of 107*. He also played a useful role with the ball, finishing with the best figures of 4-143, though his average understandably remained on the higher side due to the lack of assistance he received from the pitches.

Sundar, who comes in to replace the shoes of great Ravi Ashwin, also made a stellar all-round impact. His heroic contribution with the bat certainly did not go unnoticed. With the bat, he averaged nearly 47 and was responsible for forging a match-saving stand with Jadeja in Manchester, which kept the series alive for the visitors. Then, in the deciding fifth test, Sundar put on a show by adding 39 precious runs for the last wicket to help India get to a fighting target. His late assault during the dying phases of India's second innings proved to be a decisive moment in the game as England fell short by only 6 runs.

India will certainly take pride in what they have achieved from the England tour. This is also India's second draw since the 2021-22 test series. Despite an insane thriller at the Kia Oval, the wait for their maiden Test series win in England still continues to linger on since their 2007 series triumph.