For experts, who were either at the Oval or watched the dying moments of the 2025 England vs India Test series on television, the drama in the inaugural edition of the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy moved them to believe that it was one of the finest Test series played out in recent years. The Englishmen were reminded of the gripping 2005 Ashes that resulted in England getting their hands on the urn for the first time since 1986-87. Another set of enthusiasts were left marvelling at the commonality in great contests and that is the quality of cricket amidst ebb and flow of a remarkable kind.

The snippets section of this newspaper’s Sunday edition twice carried items to illustrate that teams can look beyond their weaknesses, conquer the well-publicised inexperience factor like Shubman Gill & Co eventually did even though they didn’t end up superior in the scoreline.

The 1972 Australian side were one such outfit, and their series battle against England that year ended similarly to what we experienced on Monday.