HOW TIMES HAVE CHANGED

Unsettled India Up Against Aggressive, Bold England In The One-Off Test

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In normal circumstances, by the time the fifth Test of a close series between two teams comes around, an air of familiarity envelopes everyone, including followers of both teams. However, the winds of change have blown so hard since the fifth Test of the 2021 season at Old Trafford, Manchester in September, got pushed to 2022 July in Edgbaston, Birmingham, that there is very little that is familiar.

Both India and England have a new captain. Both have a new coach. Both teams have lost their vice-captain (Jos Buttler for England, Ajinkya Rahane for India). In fact, if Jasprit Bumrah captains the team in place of the covid-hit Rohit Sharma, as reports indicate, India would have had four Test captains this year after KL Rahul, Virat Kohli and Rohit.

The England that India and Bumrah left shattered at a sun-kissed Oval, have enjoyed a resurrection with new skipper Ben Stokes and the attack-at-all-costs approach practised and preached by coach Brendon McCullum. One witnessed it in the three-match series against World Test champions New Zealand, which the hosts won 3-0, hunting down tricky fourth innings targets with a cowboy attitude that one associated only with the West Indies teams of yore.