India’s selectors don’t have recent ODI form to go on when they pick the squads for the England series and Champions Trophy

Nagraj Gollapudi09-Jan-20254:39

Refresher course: remember how good Gill and Rahul are at ODI cricket?

India have played only six ODIs since the 2023 World Cup – and just three in 2024 – so the selectors don’t have any recent international form to guide them when they pick the squads for the upcoming bilateral ODIs against England and the Champions Trophy in February.In those six games, India gave exposure to several players earmarked as contenders for the 2027 ODI World Cup. With the T20 set-up already revamped and the Test side facing a period of transition, there are questions around the make-up of the ODI squad too, both in terms of form and fitness of certain players.Should Yashasvi Jaiswal open in ODIs too?It might feel like Yashasvi Jaiswal is a regular in all formats for India but he hasn’t been selected in an ODI squad yet. Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill are the incumbent openers and could remain so.They formed a successful partnership in the 2023 ODI World Cup once Gill recovered from dengue and displaced Ishan Kishan at the top, but both were rested from India’s subsequent ODIs in South Africa in December that year. Gill then lost his place to Jaiswal in the T20I squad for the 2024 T20 World Cup, and made scores of 16, 35 and 6 in the 2-0 defeat in the ODI series in Sri Lanka last August. While he scored a Test century against Bangladesh in the home series in September, he failed to convert starts in the recent Border-Gavaskar Trophy, where he was dropped for the Boxing Day Test in Melbourne.With Rohit set to lead the ODI squad and open the innings, and Virat Kohli at No. 3, Jaiswal could be an option if India want to bring a left-hand batter into the top order. He was India’s leading run-scorer in the Test series in Australia and his domestic 50-over numbers are impressive: 1511 runs at an average of 54 and strike rate of 86.19 with five centuries and seven fifties in 32 innings.The other batters who opened for India in South Africa after the 2023 ODI World Cup are Ruturaj Gaikwad, B Sai Sudarshan and Rajat Patidar.Ravindra Jadeja hasn’t played ODI cricket since the World Cup final in November 2023•Associated PressDoes Ravindra Jadeja still make the cut?Jadeja hasn’t played an ODI since the 2023 World Cup, where he formed the middle order with Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul, and Suryakumar Yadav once Hardik Pandya was injured.In contrast to the selection for the ODIs in South Africa under the previous coaching regime, when specialists like Sanju Samson, Tilak Varma and Rinku Singh played in the middle-order, Gambhir and selectors were keen to have more bowling options and batting depth in Sri Lanka. The competition for allrounder spots has now increased with Axar Patel, Shivam Dube, Washington Sundar and Riyan Parag all getting a go while Jadeja and Suryakumar missed the series in South Africa and Sri Lanka.Hardik is expected to return, having proved his fitness while playing domestic 20 and 50-over games for Baroda this season, and Parag is expected to be fit as well after recovering from a shoulder injury, though his selection is not certain. Nitish Kumar Reddy, who was injured around the Sri Lanka ODIs last year, is also a contender.Iyer and Rahul, who played in Sri Lanka, are expected to retain their spots but the case for Jadeja and Suryakumar is not as clear-cut.Rishabh Pant or Sanju Samson for India in ODIs?•BCCI/IPLWho’s the second wicketkeeper in the squad?Rahul was India’s first-choice wicketkeeper in the 2023 ODI World Cup and the bilateral series in South Africa and Sri Lanka. He is likely to retain that position. Sanju Samson was the back-up in South Africa, but Rishabh Pant was preferred over him in Sri Lanka once he made his comeback from injuries suffered in a car crash and was first choice in India’s T20 World Cup winning squad in 2024.Samson’s omission from the ODI squad in Sri Lanka came under scrutiny because he had scored a hundred in India’s previous ODI in South Africa, where he played as a specialist batter at No. 3. Pant made 6 while batting at No. 4 in his only ODI in Sri Lanka.Bumrah and Shami’s fitness in focusJasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Shami were crucial to India’s unbeaten run to the 2023 ODI World Cup final, which was the last international Shami played before undergoing ankle surgery in February 2024. While he had successfully recovered from that injury, Shami’s India comeback has been delayed due to issues with his right knee while playing domestic cricket for Bengal this season. If he comes through the Vijay Hazare Trophy playoffs without a problem, he is a strong contender for the ODI squad.Bumrah’s status remains uncertain with the BCCI yet to disclose the nature of the injury that prevented him from bowling in Australia’s second innings of the fifth Test in Sydney. If Bumrah is not fit, Shami and Mohammed Siraj are likely to lead the attack along with Hardik. India would still want one if not two more seamers in the squad as back-ups.They tried several quicks in the ODI series in South Africa and Sri Lanka and one stood out from the pack. Left-arm quick Arshdeep Singh was the Player of the Series in South Africa, with ten wickets in three games including hauls of five and four wickets. He also took the new ball in two ODIs in Sri Lanka. India’s other options are Mukesh Kumar, Prasidh Krishna, Harshit Rana and Reddy – the last two considered as allrounders. Both Nitish and Rana were part of the Test squad in Australia, where Nitish played all five matches and even scored a maiden century.While it was a bold move to pick Nitish and Rana in the Test squad, the plan was to provide them with exposure and facilitate their development as seam-bowling allrounders, a skillset India struggles with. While Nitish flourished as a batter in Australia, his bowling was ineffective and he was unable to fulfil the role of an allrounder.Who are the spinners?There are doubts over whether left-arm wristspinner Kuldeep Yadav will be able to prove his match fitness in time; he is presently undergoing rehab after a hernia surgery and hasn’t played international or domestic cricket since October last year. If Kuldeep isn’t fit, India’s leading spin options are all allrounders: Jadeja, Axar and Sundar.Varun Chakravarthy could also be a left-field wristspin option. He is among the leading wicket-takers in the Vijay Hazare Trophy, having played a key role in Tamil Nadu making the play-offs, and was India’s highest wicket-taker in the T20I series in South Africa in November last year.

Hosts now find themselves in the familiar scenario of hoping for some outlandish results to go their way

Sidharth Monga23-Feb-20251:54

Urooj: Pakistan have let themselves down again

Pakistan sit at the bottom of the World Test Championship (WTC) table, have failed to make the final four of the last three ODI World Cups, didn’t make it out of their group in the last T20 World Cup, and now find themselves in the familiar scenario of hoping for some outlandish results to go their way to stay alive in the Champions Trophy they are hosting. Nobody is evoking any similarities with 1992. Not even as the dark or self-deprecating humour that Pakistanis tend to use to cope with such times. We are well past that stage.It is a futile exercise to wonder if this is the lowest Pakistan cricket has ever been. However, even when Pakistan have plummeted to spectacular lows in the past, they have done it in a way that justifies the cliché of their mercurial nature. This slide just feels like a terminal, slow decline. Players are not fighting with each other, there is no backdoor intrigue, there are no cliques in the team plotting to dethrone the captain, there are no comical run-outs or misfields, no defeats snatched from the clutches of victory.This just feels wrong. Bad cricket brought hope with it. That there could be a turnaround if they got their basics together or if they could pull in the same direction. That this was not their ceiling. Now it just feels like those revolting nuts and bolts have finally given in after prolonged rust.Related

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Take this defeat to India, for example. This was not down to lack of game awareness or carelessness. They won a good toss, decided to bat first on a pitch that was expected to slow down, had a solid game plan, enjoyed some luck through the injury to Mohammed Shami and generous wides, but just didn’t have the game to keep scoring five an over without taking risks. Dot balls mounted and wickets fell when they eventually tried to take risks.The bowlers stuck to good plans, managed to produce two balls that – as a consolation – will find themselves in the tournament’s highlight reel, but just didn’t have enough quality and depth to challenge India in a middling chase. It is just dispiriting that you can’t fantasise, forget visualise, about a Pakistan comeback from here.This is not a team in transition, but one that should ideally have at least five or six players at their prime. The Babar Azam-led batting has lagged a decade behind the rest of the world for far too long for it to just be an issue of intent and awareness. In today’s cricket, your game needs to keep evolving because oppositions catch up in no time. Since their last great triumph in ODI cricket in 2017, no batter can be said to have made it to the top and have kept on improving.1:31

Urooj Mumtaz: Rizwan chewed up too many dot deliveries

The pace-bowling trio of Shaheen Shah Afridi, Naseem Shah and Haris Rauf presented a good core, but even they have stagnated to the extent that Mohammad Abbas was recalled for Tests late last year. Naseem has lost pace, and Afridi has been mismanaged to the extent that he was “rested” for Tests in South Africa after playing all sorts of significantly less important cricket. It is damning that Pakistan hasn’t produced a great spinner after Saeed Ajmal. Even at their worst, Pakistan’s bowling used to inspire awe. Now they produce nothing more than an occasional patch of brilliance.Even at the lowest of lows in the past, you could see there were players in the system who could turn it around. There appear to be no players right now who can do so. Or is it that such players are not identified or fully developed because of how poorly administered Pakistan cricket has been of late?During all this churn, every new board leader has come armed with a new vanity project mistaken for a magic wand. Big names have been thrown in, bigger money has been thrown at them, but it has all been an attempt at managing perception. It’s almost as though the PCB has taken over the hilarity duties from the team.Pakistan get into a huddle while trying to defend 241 against India•AFP/Getty ImagesThere is no substitute for properly organised domestic cricket played on regularly relaid and varied pitches that encourage stroke-play and bowling of all varieties. The PCB instead has focused on shiny new tournaments with fancy names and promoters. Players have come up despite the lack of system in the past too, but must we always hope to replicate what is not sustainable?It doesn’t help that Pakistan cricket has been isolated to varying degrees ever since the attack on the Sri Lanka team bus in 2009. Nor does the political turmoil in the country make things easy: the PCB has not been able to insulate itself from the country’s politics, but as cricket becomes more and more professional, getting left behind is not an option. The most practical – and painstaking – solution is to build a system that is immune to changes in government, one that protects its players from external influences, one that invests in infrastructure and matches as opposed to big names.Pakistan cricket appeals to neutrals precisely because it has repeatedly managed to overcome challenges in the past to produce cutting-edge cricket even though it might not have produced as many titles as it should have for the amount of talent and innovation it had. Now that we are seeing the consequences of a complete collapse in the administration, it is worth pausing and asking if we mistook the products of the system, however flawed, for mythical mercurial creatures.

What do the six PSL 2025 squads look like after the disruption, and where do their campaigns stand at this stage?

Danyal Rasool16-May-2025

Quetta Gladiators

Gladiators are arguably best placed. Having already secured a top-two berth for the playoffs, they know precisely the path they will need to tread if they are to replicate their heroics from 2019, when they won the title. The one game they have left in the league phase comes against the already-eliminated Multan Sultans, giving them an opportunity to test out a fresh team composition.And on that note, too, they have perhaps done better than most.Rilee Rossouw, their greatest ever overseas player and an architect of their 2019 triumph, has opted to return for what remains of the league. As has Finn Allen, maintaining to a large extent their top order composition. While significant overseas names like Kusal Mendis, Sean Abbott and Mark Chapman do not make the trip back, Gladiators have bolstered their ranks with Dinesh Chandimal, Gulbadin Naib and Avishka Fernando.Karachi Kings’ superstar captain David Warner will continue to lead the side•PCB

Karachi Kings

Amid all the uncertainty over the league’s postponement, the one thing everyone seemed to be sure of was that Kings’ superstar captain had no qualms about returning. David Warner will continue to lead a side that has seen a transformation from the last three seasons, when they missed the playoffs, to sitting on the cusp of finishing inside the top two. They have two games left, coming against sides that would be desperate for the points: Peshawar Zalmi and Islamabad United, who are both fighting to finish inside the top four.Aside from Warner, Kings have Mohammad Nabi. Tim Seifert and James Vince returning too. The quartet formed the core of Kings’ playing overseas roster for much of the earlier part of the season. Kane Williamson will not return, but Kings have been strengthened by bringing in Scotland top-order batter George Munsey, described eye-catchingly on his ESPNcricinfo profile as “the reverse-sweeping demon of the Associate world”.Ben Dwarshuis is one of the key players who have returned to Islamabad United’s ranks•PCB

Islamabad United

What’s happened to the best side in PSL history? Having stormed to the title last year, they began 2025 in the same vein, winning the first five matches to register a ten-game winning streak across seasons, the best in the league’s history. They rested five players for the next game, and suddenly, they couldn’t buy a point. The last four games have been relatively comprehensive defeats, leaving them on a precarious ten points with the third-worst net run-rate and just one game to go – against Kings.However, United have built a reputation as a side that is well managed, and, just as importantly, one that drafts exceptionally well. They have perhaps been the best of all six sides at bringing in the players they require. Ben Dwarshuis returns, while Rassie van der Dussen, unavailable for the first part of the season, will now be a part of their squad. Alex Hales returns, while allrounder James Neesham and fast bowler Tymal Mills also come into the roster.Lahore Qalandars need to win their game against Peshawar Zalmi•PCB

Lahore Qalandars

Qalandars, much like United, found themselves relatively comfortable until two-thirds of the way into the season, but two rain-affected games, one of which ended in a no-result even as they lost the other, now leave them in a virtual must-win knockout before the playoffs. Nine points from nine games mean they need to win their game against Zalmi on Sunday, or they will not be a part of the playoffs – which take place in Lahore – for an unprecedented seventh time in ten seasons.They pulled out all the stops to ensure Sikandar Raza came back to join them for that one game on Sunday. He has a Test match to play against England at Trent Bridge that starts just four days later, so he will not be a part of the playoffs, even if Qalandars make it. With David Wiese and Sam Billings also not returning, Qalandars have turned to Shakib al Hasan – who has not played competitively since November last year – and Bhanuka Rajapaksa – who has not played competitive cricket since January.Mitchell Owen will not return to the PSL and instead play in the PSL•Getty Images

Peshawar Zalmi

Zalmi’s record of making every single playoff in the league’s history is under threat. For the first half of the league, they looked like they would have fallen out of contention by this stage, but three wins in the last four have helped them cling on. Sitting fifth, one point behind Qalandars, they have the advantage of a game in hand. Victory against Qalandars will guarantee them passage to the playoffs, but they also have a game against Kings, which offers them a slightly more circuitous route, with net run-rate potentially entering the mix.They have not managed to hold on to Mitchell Owen amid interest from the IPL, but do bring back Tom Kohler-Cadmore, one of Zalmi’s mainstays over the years. Luke Wood, the second-most economical fast bowler this year, will also be part of what remains of their campaign, as will big-hitting Australian Max Bryant. While Alzarri Joseph and Nahid Rana will be absent, Afghanistan top-order batter Najibullah Zadran returns.Dilshan Madushanka is one of the new recruits for Multan Sultans•ICC/Getty Images

Multan Sultans

What Sultans really care about is the end of this season. Already eliminated with one of the worst campaigns in the history of the PSL, they sit rock bottom, having lost eight of their nine games. At one stage, it appeared they would bring in no overseas player at all and, indeed, none of their overseas players from their original roster will come back.However, with the league requiring a minimum of three overseas players per game, they brought in Australian batter Josh Brown and spinner Peter Hatzoglou. In keeping with the season they have had, Brown has pulled up injured, and will be replaced by Sri Lanka fast bowler Dilshan Madushanka. ESPNcricinfo understands Sultans will also bring in a batter, though they are yet to confirm the name.

England winning an Ashes Test Australia had all-but won or Sri Lanka’s marathon fourth-innings chase against a battling Zimbabwe?

ESPNcricinfo staff06-May-2025Update: This poll has ended. The ENG-AUS 2019 Leeds Test moves to the round of 16.The greatest heist Stokes pulled – Leeds, 2019Was it the ending, the unbroken 76-run stand for the last wicket between Ben Stokes and Jack Leach? Or the fact that one of the batters scored 74 (in 45 balls) and the other 1 (in 17 balls) in that partnership? Or that the winners had scored 67 in their first innings and then hit 362 for 9 in the chase in a Test where 246 was the next-best total?Maybe all of the above. But the drama of the Stokes-Leach partnership is what perhaps made it all so memorable.Australia won the first Test and the second was drawn, so England wanted to win this one at Headingley to stay in the contest, harbour dreams of winning the Ashes. But after Australia were bowled out for 179 in the first innings, all England could put up was 67, with Joe Denly top-scoring with 12. Back to Australia, and this time they put up 246.Was the pitch getting better for batting? It didn’t seem so when England were 15 for 2 in their chase of 359, and then 159 for 4 with Joe Root gone, and then 286 for 9. Stokes, the No. 5, was on 61 at the time. Off 174 balls. So 2-0 to Australia? But with last-man Leach for company, Stokes switched something on. He hit four fours and seven sixes from that point, keeping Leach away from the strike as much as possible, before finishing it off with a flay through the covers off Pat Cummins.Sri Lanka pull off a record chase – Colombo (RPS), 2017How difficult could Zimbabwe make it for Sri Lanka in Sri Lanka in a Test match?Very, as it turned out.Craig Ervine hit 160 in close to six hours after Zimbabwe had opted to bat. They scored 356. Sri Lanka had two half-centurions – Upul Tharanga and Dinesh Chandimal – as they fell ten runs short.Surely Zimbabwe couldn’t do it again against Rangana Herath and everyone else.Yes, they could.Even top it.This time Sikandar Raza was the star, with 127, again in just under six hours, and Sri Lanka had to chase 388. Only four times had a bigger target been chased down in a Test match at that point, and never in Asia.Again, there was no century-maker. Forget that, Sri Lanka were five down for 203, still 185 in arrears. But Niroshan Dickwella and Asela Gunaratne weren’t done yet. Both scored 80s – Dickwella 81 and Gunaratne 80 not out – and Zimbabwe’s fight eventually fizzled out.

In-form Middlesex batter on being in the England selectors’ thoughts and adapting his game to thrive across formats

Vithushan Ehantharajah24-Apr-2025Max Holden is not a voracious consumer of podcasts. Experience has taught the Middlesex batter to ignore outside noise, so naturally those on cricket do not tend to pass his ears.Nevertheless, they would have been burning over the last fortnight after Holden was namechecked in two successive episodes of the Sky Sports Cricket podcast. On merit, of course.An impressive 184 against Lancashire in the opening round of the County Championship – Middlesex were 7 for 3 in their second innings and plenty behind – was highlighted by Rob Key when England men’s managing director was asked who had caught his eye early doors.Related

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The following week, selector Luke Wright used Holden, a former England Under-19 captain, as an example of someone thriving having previously been in “our system”. Three days later, Holden shifted up and down the gears for an impressive 107 against Glamorgan in Middlesex’s first win of their Division Two campaign.”I was actually made aware by one of my friends,” Holden tells ESPNcricinfo of his twin shoutouts. He resisted the urge to seek out the clips.”It is flattering, but yeah…. equally, I’ve just got to concentrate on what I’m doing. I think I’d be foolish to start reading into things too much or spending time worrying about that, rather than the next thing I can influence.”You can understand Holden’s restraint. Barring a brief taste of Lions cricket in the 2018-19 winter, his last real association with international cricket ended at Under-19 level. Neither Key, Wright nor any one else that matters from England have been in touch.The ambition, however, has never been stronger, and the attachment to various iterations of England teams helped by familiar faces. Four of his cohort from the 2016 U19 World Cup – Dan Lawrence, Sam Curran, Saqib Mahmood and Mason Crane – now have Test caps to their names.”It does feel like a really exciting era, and I’ve been watching it as an England fan first and foremost. Having played with and against a lot of these guys, it’s been cool seeing them go in and do well. Having been close to some of them, you know how good they are, and it’s fun watching them transition those skills into the Test arena.

“The last couple of years, [my technique] all the same now. I’ve tried to keep it similar; my head position, bat path, my preparation in the nets. All my scoring areas are still strong, that rhythm is consistent across formats. Even in the winter, going from the ILT20 into pre-season training with Middlesex, I felt ready for the Championship season”

“In some ways, it’s been quite inspirational, to watch how they’ve gone in certain situations. That in certain moments in games, if you have the belief and confidence, you can go about putting across your different individual strengths to play your best cricket.”There’s no envy from Holden towards his peers, and that’s partly down to his own journey. Like most players of his generation, the 27-year old was reared on traditional red-ball fundamentals through the ranks at Middlesex. There were regular comparisons with Alastair Cook, which fit beyond the left-handedness and Gray-Nicolls gear.But it was not long before Holden was engaging in a familiar conflict of his craft as he looked to push on his limited-overs game. Honing watchfulness in one code and destructiveness in the other – despite the crossed streams promoted by Brendon McCullum and Ben Stokes at the top table – remains a quandary for all batters. Despite being one of only four men to register centuries in all three formats for his county, Holden struggled for balance.His 2023 was a microcosm of this: his best in T20 cricket (averaging 30.21 and striking at 177.16, with a 56-ball 121 not out against Kent in the Blast) came alongside one of his worst red-ball returns (19.00 across 23 innings).Things have worked out better since. From the start of the 2024 season, Holden is averaging 53.03 across 27 County Championship innings, with four centuries – more than the three he managed in his previous 141 first-class knocks – all from No. 3. In amongst that was a four-game stint at the business end of the ILT20 for Desert Vipers – head coach Tom Moody recruited him early on in the 2024 English summer – which reaped 230 runs at 76.66, including a top score of 76 in the final against eventual champions Dubai Capitals.So – what twigged?”When I first got into the Middlesex team, a lot of the narrative was around my red-ball stuff and batting for a long time and concentration. Obviously that’s really important to me, and I felt, growing up, that was my strength. But I didn’t want to pigeonhole myself as a red-ball player.”About seven years ago now, I had a long sit-down with coaches and dug into how I could be a good T20 player. I never had the power of guys who could just launch the out of the ground from ball one. So it became about manipulating the field, scoring options then, as I got more confident, which sort of bowlers to go after.Holden was a key component of Desert Vipers’ run to the ILT20 final•ILT20″But then I struggled adapting, switching between the two. I felt I had different techniques. I’d stay still against the white ball, and then move more, with my trigger, against the red ball.”The last couple of years, that’s all the same now. I’ve tried to keep my technique similar; my head position, bat path, my preparation in the nets. All my scoring areas are still strong, that rhythm is consistent across formats. Even in the winter, going from the ILT20 into pre-season training with Middlesex, I felt ready for the season without thinking ‘oh, I’ve got to go back to how I want to play in the Championship now’. It’s been a mixture of technical stuff and, I suppose, growing up and experiencing the ups and downs.Consistency, as ever, is key, especially for a top-order batter who has only just discovered it at No. 3, having occupied every slot from one to eight in his professional career. It remains a constant work in progress, but Holden has help.Middlesex assistant coach Rory Coutts remains a key confidant and eye, having worked with him since the age off 11 in his former role as head of youth cricket development. “He’s someone I’d always go back to if I had a problem or wanted advice. He’s good at spotting little bits in my game like ‘when you bat well, you do this and you’re not quite doing it at the moment’.”Former Australian Test batter Simon Katich, head coach at Manchester Originals, is another who Holden can turn to. A 10-day period with former South Africa lynchpin Neil McKenzie – batting coach at Vipers – was particularly eye-opening.None of the advice has been conflicting, largely down to Holden’s own dissemination. Close to a decade as a professional has grooved a phlegmatic disposition, one that Holden is keen to cultivate as the responsibilty he assumed grows.”I think back to when I was younger – I’d spend the week dwelling on a low score or a bad shot. But given all the experience I have now, you just realise, well, these things happen. It’s part of the game. Just learn from it for next time.Holden has blocked his ears to the noise after a strong start to the season•Getty Images”Don’t get me wrong, immediately after there’s 15 minutes of annoyance of getting out, trying to think if the bowler did me there, or my technique or concentration was off. I’ll digest it in that moment.”I guess a lot of young players are similar. They overthink things or spend evenings at home worrying about it. I don’t want do that. My girlfriend wouldn’t be very happy with me coming home every day worrying about what I’ve done wrong!”This summer, arguably the biggest test of Holden’s newly found clarity will come from within his own dressing-room. Middlesex’s acquisition of Kane Williamson – a tie-up with the MCC ahead of a London Spirit gig as captain – will see the Black Caps legend on deck for the majority of the Blast and at least five Championship matches for the second half of the season. And we all know where he bats.You can file this neatly into the “good problem to have” folder. The club’s promotion chase gets an undoubted boost, and whatever jolt for Holden comes at a time when he has never been more sure of himself as a first-class cricketer. Naturally, he sees no issue – only opportunity.”He can bat wherever he wants!” Holden laughs, when asked if he’ll budge for Williamson. “I’m well aware he’s probably one of the best number threes of all time. So if Middlesex want to slide him in there, he’s more than welcome to it.”If you’ve got someone of his calibre coming in and he wants to bat there, I’m more than happy to adapt and go wherever the guys need me. I’m going to try not to bombard him, but I’m going to learn as much as I can from him.”

England and India drew 2-2 after a nerve-shredding end to an amazing series. Alan Gardner catches up with Andrew Miller and Sid Monga to pick through all the Test match goodness

ESPNcricinfo staff04-Aug-2025The fifth and final Test between England and India went down to the 25th and final day of the series, with Mohammed Siraj emerging as the hero in a dramatic six-run win for the touring side. How did India pull it off? And how did England fail to seal a chase that seemed in their hands? On the pod, Alan Gardner was joined by Andrew Miller and Sid Monga to go over a dramatic final day at The Oval. Was 2-2 a fair result? Should Siraj have been Player of the Series? And how did it all compare to 2005? Enjoy.