Morne Morkel lifts Gautam Gambhir like a baby, India head coach screams in his ears: Wild scenes in dressing room

Hindustan Times

10 hours ago

Belief. Anticipation. Jubilation. Nothing describes the first hour of Day 5 of the India vs England final Test at The Oval better than these words. Of course, if you are on India's side, that is. Or maybe not? After all, even former England captains Michael Atherton and Nasser Hussain agreed that it would have been a "travesty" had England taken the series 3-1. Morne Morkel lifts Gautam Gambhir as Indian support staff celebrate Oval win
It was the belief that made India stride out on Monday morning with a winning mindset when England needed 35 runs with four wickets. It didn't take them long to produce anticipation from belief, which soon turned into jubilation.
Mohammed Siraj was at the centre of it all. Siraj kept India's belief going by dismissing Jamie Smith -- the only recognised batter - in the second over of the day's play. He gave England another body blow and India, a shot in the arm by trapping Jamie Overton lbw. England needed 20 runs with only two wickets in hand.
18 balls and a million oohs and aahs later, Prasidh Krishna dished out a rip-roaring yorker to rattle the stumps of Josh Tongue. 17 needed with one wicket to go. Out came Chris Woakes with a hand tucked inside his sweater. The man was out there trying to win a Test match for his country with a dislocated shoulder. What else do you need?
Gus Atkinson started to throw the kitchen sink at everything. He didn't have too many options, to be honest. It got England 10 valuable runs before Siraj, who else? produced perhaps the best ball of the series, to knock down his off pole. All hell broke loose.
A few metres away from the epicentre, watching it all unfold from the dressing room, was India's support staff. The dressing room's elevation gives the perfect view of things, which at times makes it a hotbed of emotions. Silence and exuberant screams played uncomfortable musical chairs. Every ball was an event, each run made them skip a beat and when a wicket fell, the decibels rose. There was the occasional wave of the hand from Gautam Gambhir, trying to draw India captain Shubman Gill's attention for a change of field. There were claps, there were hands on hands, there were moments of deep breaths...
...Emotions, the raw, unfiltered ones, are best captured in the dressing room. And there are very few in the current Indian team's setup that do justice to all things heart than head coach Gautam Gambhir.
Credit to BCCI's media team for capturing its essence. The short video that they shared on all official handles of the Indian cricket team was, of course, fine-tuned with effects and elements, but not once in 110 seconds does it appear artificial.
The tension, the agony, the joy, the disappointment and finally the celebration, it captures it all. Remember Rahul Dravid screaming his lungs out holding the T20 World Cup trophy a year ago? Well, this was not exactly an ICC trophy but Gambhir's celebration was a one to behold. And who's complaining? The six-run win -- the narrowest in India's Test history -- helped them draw the series; a draw that feels bigger than a hundred wins.
Therefore, when Gambhir jumped into bowling coach Morne Morkel's lap – The former South Africa pacer's touring figure helped him lift Gambhir like a baby -- and screamed in his ears before landing a few kisses, it was not for the gallery; it was as real as it gets.
Ryan ten Doeschate, India's assistant coach, was jumping. Adrian Le Roux, India's physio, could not stand still (who else could?)
They all went into a group hug at the end of it all, their vocal chords beating any soundbox by a country mile. Two months of hard work, planning, blood, sweat, broken fingers and bones culminating in a 2-2 draw. But hey, who said draw is boring?