The Spectator

A highly anticipated, competitive and an intriguing series will end tomorrow. In what has been an absorbing 4 weeks or so we saw the difference between the mental approaches of the two sides ultimately translate into which side directed momentum in its favor at crucial moments. After the experiences of UAE and Sri Lanka, England finally managed to get things right in terms of results, as there was never a deviation in the way they shaped themselves up for each of these testing tours. If you had to be critical of this Cook-led side, the approach in the last test could be questioned, but then you don’t get too many opportunities to have a stake at series wins in the sub-continent! India was expected to come back stronger after the disastrous away tours, but it turns out that the team wasn’t prepared to face a determined, disciplined team. Fragment the analysis to realize that there was a sense of sameness to the mistakes that happened. The batting failed too often, the bowling was...

With the Kolkata win England has given itself the best possible chance to win a series in India after 28 years, and possibly only the fourth occasion in the history (since India’s independence). Since 2000 India has lost a series at home only twice, and last instance when it received successive drubbings at home was 12 years ago. These are some of the huge records that this Alastair Cook-led side has broken or on the verge of it. There are obvious reasons to see this in light with the series of 1984 which had another left-hander skipper for England and here is a comparative account. While I can’t speak for the performances in that (1984-85 series) series, the statistics bear a striking similarity. India won the first test and the lost the second equally comprehensively. The third couldn’t produce a result and the fourth saw England winning handsomely to take a 2-1 lead. India pushed hard for a win in the last test but couldn’t level the score-line. I needn’t elaborate why this s...