Veteran batter KL Rahul stated that Indian players gave their everything -- physically, mentally and emotionally -- throughout the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy to eke out a 2-2 draw in the five-match series.
Despite being in transition, the Indian team, led by Shubman Gill, showed remarkable resilience throughout the series, with each Test going to the final day. And when the odds were stacked against them at The Oval, they brought their A game to England.
The matches at Headingley and Lord's went down to the wire, with both sides having their moments, but India narrowly missed out on victory. The visitors registered a crushing 336-run win at Edgbaston and pulled off a hard-fought draw in Manchester.
After a thrilling six-run victory at The Oval, Rahul spoke to Cheteshwar Pujara for Sony Sports Network, during which he discussed how this young team displayed character in every match.
“Feeling is hard to describe. I've been here for 25 days. It took every inch out of us, everything that we had physically, mentally, emotionally, this test series has taken everything away from all of us, and I think that at the end of 25 days, we're standing here 2-2. Absolutely like proud of ourselves, so satisfying to be here and draw the series. We'd love to win this series. I think we had moments in the series, but for a young team to come here and for a lot of us to step up and show the world that we can compete, we can win games outside of India. Yeah, it's truly a testament to what this team is,” Rahul told broadcasters.
Rahul opened up about the emotions in the camp at the start of the day, recalling the tense moment when Akash Deep spilled a tough chance near the boundary.
“Right now it's just relief, you know, the last, I think this whole morning was crunch and the pressure was really high. There was a lot happening, but we weren't getting the edges, so we were getting a little impatient and then at the end, you know, that drop catch that went for a 6 and we didn't have too many runs to play with, so, right now it's just relief, satisfaction and such a happy feeling, such a proud feeling for all of us, the support staff, the players. Everyone who's been involved with the Indian team over the last two months, we're really proud of your performance,” he stated.
Rahul also shared his feeling about the win, rating it as one of India’s finest ever. “Win means absolutely everything. I’ve played cricket for years. Won Champions Trophy, seen the team lift the world cup. Nothing compares to that. But so many questions about whether Test cricket stays or not, but both answered that question here with the way we’ve played. We weren’t given a chance but we’ve fought in every game and get 2-2, might be a draw, but for Indian Test cricket, this will rank right at the top and this is where change begins. Indian Test team will win a lot many things and more series. Not having, Rohit, Virat, Ashwin hit me two weeks in,” he remarked.
