London, Aug 4 (IANS) After their incredible six-run victory in the fifth Test at The Oval, India skipper Shubman Gill said their strategy of keeping England under pressure on day five’s play proved to be successful.
On day five, India picked the remaining four wickets for 28 runs to win the match and level the five-game Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy series 2-2. “Every Test we came on day four and day five never knowing who was going to win. It just shows that both the teams came with their A game and I am very happy to get over the line in this one.”
“There was a bit of pressure on us but I think the way we came through that spell was magnificent for us. Pressure makes you do things you don’t want to and we wanted them to feel it as they looked to chase all those runs,” said Gill in the post-match presentation ceremony.
India’s surreal win was led by Mohammed Siraj’s 5-104 and Prasidh Krishna’s 4-126. “When you have bowlers like Siraj and Prasidh, captaincy seems easy. They were making the ball talk. He (Siraj) is a captain’s dream, every ball, every spell he bowled he came all out and gave it everything for the team,” added Gill.
Gill also became India’s Player of the Series, which was adjudicated by England coach Brendon McCullum for being the series leading run-getter in what was also his first assignment as the side’s Test captain.
“2-2 is a fair reflection. It shows how passionate both teams were and how well they played. Very rewarding, my aim was to be the best batter this series and getting there is very satisfying. It’s always a matter of sorting things out technically and mentally, they are correlated. Learnings from the last six weeks: We never give up,” he concluded.
–IANS
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