India were without a number of their stars due to various reasons. Virat Kohli opted out of the series for the birth of his second child, while Mohammed Shami has been recovering from a surgery. Shreyas Iyer was dropped after the first two Tests, while KL Rahul did not feature in four of the five Tests due to another injury.
Despite the absence of some big names, India came back from a 1-0 deficit to clinch the series 4-1. They completely their domination of England with a thumping innings and 64-run win in the fifth and final Test in Dharamsala inside three days on Saturday, March 9.
"We lost the first Test match, and had to bounce back from there, had to do it with a slightly different team to the one that we probably expected to start the series. We were put under pressure at various stages. But to be able to bounce back from that, it does make you feel really proud for the way the team's evolved. At pressure situations, we've really found people to step up and be able to execute their skills at the top of their ability," Dravid said at the post-match press conference.
Seven players made their debut in the India-England series; five of them from the Indian camp. Barring Rajat Patidar, the other four - Dhruv Jurel, Akash Deep, Sarfaraz Khan and Devdutt Padikkal - had key roles to play in India’s triumph.
Dravid shared his views on the importance of India 'A' matches in the wake of the youngsters’ outstanding performances. "All of these guys were just recently playing an 'A' tour against England. That really helped us also to see which are the guys performing and doing well. They just came in and were able to perform in this series as well. The 'A' team is that perfect bridge between these two standards (domestic cricket and international cricket)," he opined.
The former India captain also credited chief selector Ajit Agarkar and his panel for making some crucial selection moves. "I would like to give credit to Ajit and his team as well. As a coach and a captain (Rohit Sharma), we don't get to see domestic cricket. We have to rely on Ajit and his team to tell us who are the guys in domestic cricket who can step up and fill in the gaps. They have been spot-on," he asserted.
England batted first after winning the toss in Dharamsala and were bowled out for 218. India responded with 477 after which England were bundled out for 195 in their second innings. Ravichandran Ashwin claimed nine wickets in his 100th Test, while Kuldeep Yadav named Player of the Match for claiming seven wickets and scoring 30 runs.
--By A Cricket Correspondent
