Talk to Sachin Tendulkar about that 2-2 draw, and he’ll tell you it’s the Mohammed Siraj story. He’s convinced Siraj was the one who basically dragged the rest of the team into the fight. He was the first man over the wall, showing a kind of guts that gave everyone else the license to be brave.
He was the guy who showed everyone else how to fight, and everything good that happened for India after that was simply them following the marker he laid down first.
He said the fast bowler’s incredible, non-stop intensity was the benchmark that everyone else had to match.
He also credited the clutch batting from Gill, Rahul, and Jaiswal for anchoring the lineup. For the inaugural Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy, it was a back-and-forth battle to the very end—and you couldn’t ask for a better start than that.
Rishabh Pant and Chris Woakes even batted through injuries, adding to the high-stakes narrative. Pant, playing with a fractured right foot, scored two centuries and three half-centuries at an average of 68.42.
Tendulkar shared his thoughts in a Reddit session, where he explained why he finds Pant’s unorthodox strokeplay special.
“The sweep shot that he played, he likes to get under the ball to scoop it with some elevation,” Tendulkar said. “People think he has fallen, but it is intentional so that he can get under the ball. It’s a planned fall. He doesn’t go off-balance.”
While Pant’s approach caught attention, the series also highlighted the discipline of Gill and Rahul. Gill, who captained India, scored 754 runs, the second-highest aggregate by a captain in a series after Don Bradman’s 810 in 1936. Rahul contributed 532 runs with more than one century in a series for the first time in his Test career.
“He was extremely consistent as far as his thought process was concerned,” Tendulkar said of Gill. “His front-foot defence was solid. He respected the good balls and stayed calm, which showed in his body language and footwork.”
On Rahul’s batting, Tendulkar added, “He was terrific. He knew exactly where his off stump was and which balls to leave. I got the feeling he sometimes frustrated the bowlers, forcing them to come back to him. When the ball was in striking range, he played magnificent shots.”
When you talk about the bowlers, Siraj was an absolute workhorse. He was the only bowler on either side to play all five Tests, bowling a staggering 1,113 balls and finishing as the series’ top wicket-taker with 23. And with Bumrah missing two matches, Siraj had to carry the load.
It’s no wonder Sachin Tendulkar was so blown away. He loved Siraj’s attitude, saying that relentless, “in-your-face” style is exactly what a batsman hates to see.
And to think—after throwing over a thousand balls, he was still firing them in at 90 miles per hour on the last day. For Tendulkar, that’s pure guts and heart, and he feels the guy just doesn’t get the credit he’s earned.
And you can’t forget the young opener, Yashasvi Jaiswal. He played with so much maturity, piling up 411 runs with a couple of big hundreds. He was the glue in so many partnerships, especially when he ground out that brilliant century in the final Test at The Oval.
Tendulkar was especially blown away by Yashasvi’s mindset. “He’s fearless,” he said, “but knows when to accelerate or hold back.” He praised the young player’s character and maturity, calling it “a treat to watch” him guide Akash Deep through that final Test.
You know, that 2-2 draw tells you everything about this Indian squad. You’ve got the old guard who just refuse to back down, and then you have these young kids who play with absolutely no fear. And like Tendulkar said, in a series where there was zero room for error, you needed that exact combination to survive.
