London, Aug 4 (IANS) India captain Shubman Gill said his side’s series-levelling six-run win over England in the fifth Test at The Oval was built on their belief that any small opening created by them could be used to create a path of victory.

On day five of the match, Mohammed Siraj claimed a decisive 5-104 as India bowled out England for 367 in a chase of 374 to level the Anderson–Tendulkar Trophy series 2-2. A victory looked distant for India when Joe Root and Harry Brook notched up centuries, but Siraj and Prasidh Krishna ensured the visitors ended a riveting Test series on a winning note.

“This morning kind of summarised what this team is all about. 70-odd runs, seven wickets in hand. The way Brook and Root were going, not many teams in the world would have given themselves a chance. But this team believes that whenever we have some kind of an opening, we can make it and get through that opening.

That’s what we were talking about once Brook was out, and then we got an early wicket of (Jacob) Bethell, that this is our opening, let’s try to build pressure on them. One more wicket from here, and you never know, it’s cricket, still 70 odd runs on day 4, on that kind of a wicket, or even 50 runs, they would be under pressure,” said Gill in the post-match press conference.

He also credited Siraj and Krishna for making his job easier as captain, and revealed why he resisted taking the second new ball. “But when you’ve got bowlers like him (Siraj) bowling, it makes your job as a captain very easy. You’re just standing out there, and you just want to appreciate their bowling.”

“Firstly, yes, we did have the option of (taking) a second (new) ball. But I think the way Siraj and Prasidh were bowling, we didn’t feel like we needed a new ball. They can do the job for us even if it’s an 84-year-old ball. Secondly, we thought that we still have the wicket-taking options on this wicket.”

“We knew that there was a lot of pressure on them. In such a situation, there is always more pressure on the batting team because it’s a one-ball game. So we thought that the longer we take the game, the more probability we will have to produce wicket-taking balls,” he elaborated.

For Gill, the epic win at The Oval was also a huge reminder of the importance of staying composed through sport’s highs and lows. “I think there are moments like these, where you feel the journey is worth it, the moment that we had in the morning. There have been a lot of highs and lows, and that’s kind of expected, especially with sports.”

“Every game or every time you go into bat, you want to be able to perform, you want to be able to score a century. But unfortunately, that’s not how the game or life works. You should be able to navigate through the highs and lows of life and try to stay balanced throughout.”

“That’s what, at least I believe in, that I want to be able to stay balanced, whether we have won the match, lost the match, I’ve done well, or I’ve not done well. It’s difficult, but it’s a process. That’s the real journey, to be able to stay balanced. I’m still learning, but so far, so good,” he concluded.

–IANS

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