By V.N. Prasad

Unfathomable by any stretch of imagination — a team with 5 centuries in a Test, losing the contest eventually. Both innings put together, our boys lost 13 wickets for just 70 odd runs. They dropped 6 vital catches.

Bowling in the 2nd innings was pretty thoughtless and pedestrian. Instead of carrying the huge psychological advantage, they surrendered meekly to the utter disgust of cricket lovers across board. Were we poised well to post 600-plus  in the 1st innings!!

It all started with poor team selection. Ravindra Jadeja has indeed added value as a spinner. But was never the front-line spinner. Benching Kuldeep Yadav cost us dearly. Karun Nair looked a novice (BCCI literally killed his career showing him the door after a triple hundred 7-8 years ago against the English at home). On the hind sight, Nitish Kumar Reddy would have been a better choice, as an all-rounder.

Yes, they took wickets no doubt. But, frankly Prasidh Krishna and Shardul Thakur were wayward, leaking runs all over. I pity young Sai Sudarshan for his absolute lack of maturity in his exuberance to flick the ball off his toes. His dismissal in both the innings looked an eyesore. Young Jaiswal did a huge favour to the Englishmen dropping vital catches.

Anyway, all accolades to Ben Stokes and Co., on pulling off a magnificent and improbable victory in the second highest chase after 1948 at the Leeds in cricket history. Ollie Pope has a duty to visit the Vatican to thank the Pope for his blessings en route to his hundred in the 1st innings. I pity young Harry Brook in missing out on a well-deserved hundred (if only he had timed the hook a little better on the nervous 99). It was a blistering knock. A brilliant ton by Ben Ducket and a silken 50 by Joe Root were a treat to watch.

Not the first and surely not the last. Proverbially, the game of cricket is glorious for its uncertainties. We do hope and pray that Team India will use the much-needed common sense in picking the right combination for the remaining Tests and does what Alcaraz did in the French Open recently.  In that endeavour, it would do well for BCCI to immediately put Shreyas Iyer on the plane and blood him in.

Come on Team India, not the end of the world. You can stage a comeback.