While criticizing the "pitches" and "scheduling" of the current Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy, former England captain Nasser Hussain praised both teams' performances, stating that "Test cricket needed a series like this."

The fifth and final Test between England and India will have a result on the final day, with the hosts needing 35 more runs to win the match and the series, while the visitors need four more wickets to level the series.

"This series has been feisty and played with a bit of needle, and I like that. In general, the fight between the teams has made it much more watchable. It has been great TV. We talked at the start of the summer about two iconic series coming up for England—India at home and then Australia away. When you build a series up, sometimes it can be a bit one-sided and deflating. But this has not disappointed, and I think Test cricket needed a series like this,” Hussain wrote in his column for The Daily Mail.

Hussain then went on to highlight some of the standout moments of the series.

"There have been so many memorable moments. There was that over to Zak Crawley on the last night at Lord’s. You had Pant strolling down the stairs on one leg at Old Trafford, hobbling around as he batted with a broken foot. Here at The Oval, we saw Joe Root—the most mild-mannered, calm individual—losing his cool after some verbals from Prasidh Krishna. Then there was Sai Sudharsan, another calm character, walking into the England huddle and having words with Duckett. I have enjoyed every single minute of it,” he said.

However, Hussain was critical of the scheduling of the Test matches with five matches in six weeks. He also had some words about the pitches that were used in the series.

“The only downsides have been the pitches and the schedule. Make no mistake, this series needed this Oval pitch. Although every test has gone to the last session, the conditions have slightly favored the bat too much. Here, the ball has dominated the bat just enough to make it an incredibly watchable match.

"As for the schedule, five tests in six weeks is too tight, and the dates have also been odd. I agreed with Ben Stokes when he questioned why there have been two long turnarounds of eight or nine days between tests and then two short ones of just three days. It would be better to have a consistent five-day break between them all,” he added.

(Daily Mail inputs)