India went on to clinch the Test series against England, producing a cavernous performance to win the decider on Day 5 in Birmingham. The match ended with England’s defense cracking under the pressure, resulting in a disheartening draw for the home team. With multiple tournament victories in their pockets, England strode into Birmingham with unwavering confidence. They soon ran into a motivated Indian team intent on returning to form, giving them a rude awakening.
In the post-match presentation, England’s captain Ben Stokes highlighted two key turning points in the match. He was convinced those instances caused his club’s defeat. The first was the decisive early dismissal of all their main batsmen that laid the foundation for the interesting day. Today’s morning rain meant that the number of overs the England batsmen must hang on for was cut down from 90 to 80. This radical shift immediately increased the strain on the offense.
India began the final day with a commanding 370-run lead. Their opponents were in trouble, three wickets down already, thanks to an impressive bowling performance by Akash Deep the previous evening. Stokes played aggressively and cleared the boundary four times. He eventually holed out on the hook, letting Akash Deep complete the first five-wicket haul of his career in just his eighth Test match.
Struggles plague England on the last day Ollie Pope and Harry Brook were among those to succumb to a procession of wickets in the early five overs. Akash Deep would prove to be the pick of the bowlers, first getting Pope to play onto his stumps in the third over. He then fashioned a diabolical nipbacker to trap Brook lbw for 23. This sudden collapse of two very key wickets would cause England to be in a big shock.
Individually, India had success as the day progressed, and they were able to see England’s top order fall into disarray. Joe Root went wide to combat the short-ball tactics that had previously made his life difficult. Yet even with all that work, he remained unable to find his groove. At the other end, Ben Stokes experienced the extraordinary embarrassment of 23 consecutive dot balls. This streak just showed the ridiculous amount of pressure that India’s gun bowlers put on you.
Stokes’s England had previously never earned a draw while under the stewardship of captain Stokes and coach Brendon McCullum. Frankly, polemics aside, they were the second best team from start to finish. Akash Deep, with a screaming skill skill-heart combo, bowled his proverbial face off. He ended with incredible match figures of 6-99 and 10 wickets in the match overall after snatching up Brydon Carse as his last scalp.
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