India won the fifth Test against England at the Oval by a narrow margin of six runs, thereby ending the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy in a 2-2 draw.
This result has given a much-needed breathing space to India head coach Gautam Gambhir, who was under-fire for India’s dismal show in the Test format lately.
Under his guidance, India had earlier conceded the away Border-Gavaskar Trophy 3-1 to Australia and also suffered a humiliating 3-0 whitewash to New Zealand at home.
After the Oval Test, Gambhir had an epic reaction to India’s triumph, saying his team will never be about individuals. He also stated that his side truly “deserved” this result as they fought really hard in all five matches.
Gambhir might have delivered as a white-ball coach, including the Champions Trophy win, but he drew a lot of flak heading into the England tour because of underwhelming results in the longest format.
Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma and Ravichandran Ashwin called time on their Test careers in the last seven months, but the young team led by Shubman Gill showed immense resilience and gave England a real run for its money.
“It's going to be the ideology of this Test team, where it won't be about individual-centric, it will be about the team. The way the boys have fought. I've always been a big believer that you should always get what you deserve, not what you want. And I think the guys deserved it,” said Gambhir in a video shared by BCCI.
Skipper Shubman Gill was adjudged as India's Player of the Series, amassing 754 runs in the five-match series. His highest score of 269 came in the first innings of the Edgbaston Test, which India won by a huge margin of 336 runs.
In the same Test, Gill had also slammed 161 runs in the second innings. The 25-year-old entered the series with questions over his SENA record. However, he answered his critics by smashing four centuries in the series.
Commenting on the Oval Test win, Gill said, “I'm feeling very ecstatic and high right now and very happy with the way everyone performed. Very happy with the way everyone contributed throughout the series. Different people stepping in at different moments.”
“This is what you want as a captain, and I'm very happy with the way I performed as a batter as well,” he added.
India will now play four Tests in the remainder of the 2025 season. Shubman Gill and his men will face the West Indies and South Africa at home later this year.
