India vs England, 5th Test: The art of winning

England's Gus Atkinson celebrates with teammates after taking the wicket of Sai Sudharsan during the Oval Test. (Courtesy: Reuters photo)

Winning, clearly, is an art. You need to know how to win. Win moments and games. Win critical points in an individual sport and periods in a team one. That’s what will decide the Oval Test match. India had come close at Lord’s but lost in the last hour. Against Ben Stokes they were up against someone who has been there for a decade and knows how to get over the line. It was no surprise to see Stokes bowl over after over and eventually seal the win. Siraj couldn’t control his nerves. Shoaib Bashir did. It was all about the art of winning.

At the Oval on day 3 it all boils down to the art of winning. In this day and age of T-20 cricket, attrition is something alien to most teams. India still has eight wickets left and the game is on fast forward mode. All India needs on day 3 is proper conventional Test match batting. Attrition as I said. The Indians have indeed improved leaps and bounds on this tour but they are yet to master the art of winning. They have come close no doubt but haven’t closed out games yet. That’s what has cost them Lord’s. That what they need to guard against at the Oval.

I once had a fascinating conversation with Pulella Gopichand on the art of winning. I had asked Gopi what his job is sitting behind the court when PV Sindhu or Saina Nehwal is locked in a close encounter with one of the top players on tour. Sindhu, one of the best in the world at the moment, has all the boxes ticked as a player. She has the height, the strokes, her court coverage is excellent and yet she has faltered in a dozen finals. Gopi summed it up nicely. “My job is not to teach Sindhu how to play. She knows all of it. It is not about technique or strokes at this level. When she is locked at one game all and 17-17 for example it is my job to ensure that she wins more often than not. That she does and that’s why she makes the finals. That’s what I am there for. I help her in mastering the art of winning”, he said.

At the highest level where most performers are evenly matched in terms of skill and ability, it all comes down to the one who knows the art of winning the key moments. The reason Sam Curran, at 20, was adjudged man of the series in England by Ravi Shastri and Virat Kohli in 2018 was because he was successful in winning England the few minutes that mattered the most in Birmingham and Southampton. Of the 30 hours played at Edgbaston, these 30 minutes made the real difference and that’s what Sam Curran won for England.

In this series almost every Test match has been even for four-and-a-half days. That’s how close and competitive it has been and there is very little to separate the two teams even at the Oval. India, we all know, has mastered the art of winning in the white ball format. That’s what explains the canter to the Champions Trophy title in March 2025. And that’s what they lack in red ball cricket overseas and that’s what they need to change at the Oval. From the look of it, it does seem possible. All India needs is a good day 3.