As far as India’s batting is concerned, this Test match saw the lower order come to India’s rescue and take them to a commanding position. Ravindra Jadeja, with a blazing innings of 90, showing the way to the off-spinning duo of Ravichandran Ashwin and Jayant Yadav to build a lead for the hosts. Ajinkya Rahane’s form seems to be the only major cause of concern for the think tank.

Parthiv Patel, who made a Test comeback after eight years

“The kind of welcome I got in the dressing room, it didn’t feel like I was making a comeback after eight years. That is the beauty of the team. Playing aggressive cricket suits my game, and the intent was important. I have been practicing my drives against the bowling machine, because when I first came, I used to play just two shots: the cut and the pull. The cut shot comes naturally to me.”

Ravichandran Ashwin

“I have a bit of an abdominal strain. It was bad on the second day, but it has got better. We were in a bit of bother on day 2, but we had to back ourselves. Special mention needs to go to Jaddu (Ravindra Jadeja) for the way he bowled those boring lines, because the wicket was not doing much. More than Alastair Cook, I really enjoyed taking the wicket of Moeen Ali. I knew he would come out, so I slowed it down.”

Alastair Cook, England captain

“It was a good toss to win, but if you score 280 in the first innings, you won’t win matches. You need to get at least 400 on this kind of a pitch to win. Ben Stokes is a brilliant player, who lends balance to the team. Haseeb Hameed has shown a lot of character and promise, but it has been four frustrating days. Credit to India.”

Ravindra Jadeja, Man of the Match

“I am really happy with my performance, especially with the bat. I knew that the ball was turning so I took my time. I knew that if I play 40-50 balls, I could play a big innings. (On getting out on 90) I took a risk against the leg spinner, the ball came off slowly. The next time when I score 90, I will be careful.”

Here’s how the cricketing fraternity reacted to India’s triumph on Twitter:

VVS Laxman

Aakash Chopra

Mohandas Menon

Sanjay Manjrekar

Mohammad Kaif

Jonathan Agnew

Harsha Bhogle

Anjum Chopra

Also read: India vs England – Twitter reactions

0 votes