London [UK], August 5 : As the gripping Test series between India and England came to a thrilling conclusion with a 2-2 draw, the cricketing world was treated to a contest that not only matched expectations but also etched its name into the history books. Both teams played high-quality, competitive cricket throughout the series, and the numbers reflect just how special this battle turned out to be.
Throughout the series, there were brilliant batting displays witnessed, a staggering run aggregate of 7,187, the second-highest in Test history. The contest was marked by aggressive intent and attacking cricket from both sides, leading to 14 team totals of 300 or more, equalling the record for the most 300-plus scores in a Test series.
The batters from both camps rose to the occasion repeatedly. As many as nine players ended the series with 400 or more runs to their names, underlining the consistency and resilience of the top and middle-order line-ups. The series also saw fifty instances of individual scores of fifty and above, another record that stands jointly at the top of the all-time list. To add to that, 21 centuries were scored across the five Tests, a figure that again equals the highest ever recorded in a single series.
Partnerships were the bedrock of this batting dominance, with 19 century stands stitched together, the joint-most in Test series history.
Root combined with Harry Brook for a 195-run partnership, which is now the second-highest fourth-innings partnership ever in a losing cause, just behind KL Rahul and Rishabh Pant's 204-run stand at The Oval in 2018. Their double-hundred stand couldn't save England, and despite a strong position at 332/4, they suffered a collapse that saw them fall just short.
For England, Joe Root made his 39th Test hundred in the final innings. That innings took him past Kumar Sangakkara's tally of 38 centuries, leaving only Sachin Tendulkar (51), Jacques Kallis (45), and Ricky Ponting (41) ahead of him in the all-time list. Root combined with Harry Brook for a 195-run partnership, which is now the second-highest fourth-innings partnership ever in a losing cause, just behind KL Rahul and Rishabh Pant's 204-run stand at The Oval in 2018. Their double-hundred stand couldn't save England, and despite a strong position at 332/4, they suffered a collapse that saw them fall just short.
This was only the third time in Test history that a team lost after scoring over 300 runs for the loss of just three wickets in the fourth innings. The previous two such instances were Australia's collapse from 305/3 to 310 all out against Pakistan in 1978-79, and the West Indies' fall from 303/3 to 387 all out against Australia in 2007-08 while chasing 475. England's collapse from 332/4 to defeat places them second on the list of the highest four-wicket down totals in a failed chase, the only one ahead of them was their own 346/4 turned 417 all out at Melbourne in 1976-77.
India's series-levelling win at The Oval was more than just a hard-fought result, it was historic. The six-run victory became India's narrowest win in Test cricket in terms of runs, surpassing their 13-run triumph over Australia in Mumbai in 2004-05 season. The Oval Test also marked the first time India managed to win either the fifth or sixth Test of a series away from home. It had taken them 17 attempts to get there. Their only other experience of playing a sixth Test overseas was back in 1982-83, at Karachi, and even that had ended in a draw.
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