London [UK], August 4 : India head coach Gautam Gambhir hailed his players for scripting a nail-biting 2-2 series draw in England in the inaugural Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy and vowed that his side will "never surrender" irrespective of the outcome that awaits them.
The odds were stacked against India as they stepped inside The Oval to scalp four wickets with barely 35 runs to defend in the fifth Test while defending the daunting 373-run target. Under London's clouded sky, the two successive boundaries on the opening deliveries further deteriorated India's chances.
But Mohammed Siraj and Prasidh Krishna upped the ante and bowled in tandem to wreak havoc and tilt the scales in India's favour. Siraj unleashed his fury and struck the decisive blow by nailing the yorker to rattle Gus Atkinson's stumps to seal a slender six-run triumph for India. Gambhir arrived at the field and embraced captain Shubman Gill, indicating the significance of this victory.
After India's fabled story of success, Gambhir had a simple message and wrote on X, "We'll win some, we'll lose some.... but we'll NEVER surrender! Well done boys!"
Since kicking off the home series against New Zealand last October, India had lost six of their last eight Tests with Gambhir at the helm. The dreadful run included a whitewash at home by the Kiwis and a 3-1 defeat during the Border-Gavaskar Trophy in Australia.
During this shambolic run, India dominated Australia in Perth with a resounding 295-run triumph and was saved by the weather gods in Brisbane, which washed away the Test and forced the contest to end in a draw. After a dreadful run, five gruelling Tests waited for Gambhir and his troops.
Gambhir's woes further swelled after receiving a five-wicket bashing in the series opener against England at Headingley. However, after that moment, India didn't rue the missed chances and orchestrated a historic 336-run triumph at Edgbaston.
At Lord's, India reigned supreme and fought right till the last gasp before succumbing to a 22-run defeat. In Manchester, India never gave up, even in the direst of situations and forced England to settle for a draw to keep the series alive. The narrative of India's downfall continued in London, but India refused to settle for anything less than a victory and clinched a famous 2-2 draw.
Former India coach Sanjay Bangar emphasised the significance of the series win for India and especially Gambhir, considering his torrid run in the past and said on JioHotstar, "This is one of the special moments in the history of Indian cricket. This was a very important win for Gautam Gambhir as well."
"Yes, Shubman Gill has done some special things on tour. But even for Gautam Gambhir, with all the combinations that were being tried, the kind of start he had as head coach of the team - losing to New Zealand at home, then going to Australia and losing a series there too. The team never gave up, because even Gautam never gave up in terms of whatever he was thinking about the team and the direction in which he wanted to take them," he added.
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