What was panning out to be just another day of gloom in a world run by ogres like Trump and Modi was magically transformed by 57 minutes of edge-of-your-seat thrills at the Oval on the last day of the 5th Test match between India and England. For Indians clued into cricket, it was truly exhilarating because it was so out of the blue. England needed 35 runs with 4 wickets in hand, and the first two balls were pulled and inside-edged for fours by Overton, reducing the deficit to 27 runs. Then the indomitable Mohammed Siraj created magic, and the rest was pure delirium!

The oracle of Indian cricket, Sunil Gavaskar, speaking the previous evening, threw down the gauntlet to the Indian team, which had its back to the wall. He reckoned that whereas India may have won more sessions in the series, England had won more games, and if India failed to win this match, one would have to conclude that England was the better side.

Given the match situation, such criticism might have disheartened a lesser team, but these brave hearts showed that they were made of sterner stuff. India won – a victory so unexpected that if one extrapolates the fact that my friends, cricketing philistines for sure, did not turn on their TVs thinking the result was a foregone conclusion, one can assume that most fans missed watching the heroics live. No matter!

India and Indians across the globe erupted in celebration! The bare truth is that, amidst the depression of living in Modi's India, only sport, particularly cricket, has been a reason to rejoice in the last couple of years. Never has there been a more successful period in Indian cricketing history. India was runner-up in the World Championship of cricket in 2023, won the 2023 ODI Asia Cup, was losing finalist in the ODI World Cup the same year, won the T20 World Cup in 2024 and the ODI World Cup earlier this year.

And now, despite the unexpected retirement of our top three stars, India was a protagonist in arguably the most riveting Test series of all time, which ended level at 2-2. Even in America where most people know cricket to be an insect that chirps, the leading daily, The New York Times carried a photo-filled column titled, "England against India: the story of a breathtaking Test series in 10 pictures" that evoked some of the iconic images of the series including Gill's Walter Hammond-like cover drive, Pant losing his bat but not his consummate skill, and Siraj, arms akimbo a la Ronaldo after yorking Atkinson to seal a memorable victory.

The Guardian graded the individual performances of the two teams in the series, giving three English players an A rating, four a B, six a C and three a D rating. By comparison, India fared infinitely better, with four As, six Bs, three Cs and two Ds - clearly the more rounded team, plausibly the better of the two! More significantly, this young team played for each other, breathing brotherhood, unity and oneness!

Before getting into the less honourable aspects of Indian cricket, let's revisit and salivate over the virtuosity and unflinching tenacity of our "gun team," an appellation coined by the coach, Gautam Gambhir, to denote aggressive intent, resolve and a never-say-die attitude. In the 1st Test, splendid hundreds by Jaiswal, Gill and Pant in the first innings, Rahul's dour hundred in the second innings should have brought India victory, but Bazball eventually got the better of us. In the 2nd Test, India hit back in style, winning by 357 runs on the back of a Bradmanesque 269 and 161 by Gill, a magnificent 6-for by Siraj in the first innings and match figures of 10-for by Akash Deep.

The 3rd Test at Lords was an absolute humdinger and heartbreaking. India lost by a mere 22 runs. The match will be remembered for Washington Sundar's match-turning 4 for 22 and Jadeja's heroic effort in the company of the tailenders that fell just short. The 4th Test was drawn from a hopeless position by the unbroken 200-run partnership between Jadeja and Sundar. And then of course the grand finale at the Oval! An absolute dream series; the spectators and viewers couldn't have asked for more!

The Indian cricket management has been patting itself on the back for the success of the team. The media has raved about Gambhir's contribution as coach, crediting him for the change in batting approach, for brilliant strategising and for backing young talent. It's so true that success conjures up many fathers. Forgotten is the thrashing that our team suffered recently under Gambhir's stewardship against New Zealand and Australia. Undoubtedly one of our greatest openers, he is most unsuited for the job of coach because of his hot-headed arrogance, strong prejudices and lack of empathy.

Was Rahul Dravid, who was adored by his players and shepherded the team to the World T20 trophy, eased out to make way for Gambhir? We will never know, but it is no secret that Gambhir's was a political appointment engineered by the saffronised cricket establishment, a decision that was resented by the senior players and ultimately hastened the retirement of our grandees – Ashwin, Virat and Rohit. Gambhir's newfound reputation of nurturing young talent is baffling when one considers that the immensely talented Sarfaraz Khan was left to hang and dry during the tour of Australia. Was his name the problem?

All in all, it's hard to disagree with the great Ian Chappell's view that it is the captain who influences a team's performance, and the coach's role is minimal. As Australia's captain in the 1970s, I remember him saying something to the effect that the ideal coach transported players to the stadium!

Jeffrey Archer is not the only one to observe that cricket is more than a sport but a religion in India. This social phenomenon has ripped through regional, ethnic and religious divides and united us like nothing else could. But things have changed dramatically in the last few years since the ruling regime usurped the cricket establishment for its moolah and immense cultural power.

The present dispensation has dirtied the waters, both domestic and now international. The Sardar Patel stadium has been unblushingly renamed the Narendra Modi stadium; most major cricket events are held there; Billy bhai Jay Shah, clueless and gross, is the omnipotent monarch; key posts are held by toadies of the regime; the cricket experts have been reduced to grovelling yes-men. It's only the players who have resisted the saffron assault. But for Rohit and his team, players would be wearing saffron attire instead of the traditional all-blue!

Most dangerous of all, the regime has polluted our cricket with its ideology of predatory nationalism and anti-Muslim sentiment. Cricketing ties with Pakistan have been irreparably damaged. Our cricket fans have been converted to bigoted racists, infected with hate and prejudice, whose religious identity defines their thoughts and actions.

What's equally unconscionable is what Billy Bhai, as ICC chairman, has been doing when he is not gorging on dhoklas. Crude and ignorant about cricket tradition and lore, but determined to erase things Muslim, he contrived the renaming of the iconic Pataudi trophy as the Anderson-Tendulkar trophy. He makes no bones about his obnoxious anti-Muslim bias. After India beat England in the 2nd Test, Billy Bhai sent a congratulatory message lauding the efforts of Gill, Akash Deep, Pant and Jadeja but left out Siraj, who had set up the victory with a haul of 6 for 70 in the 1st innings. It was the Hindutva tune being played in full public glare!

That's why what Siraj achieved on the final morning of the series was infinitely more than a cricketing achievement. His magic that day and performance through the series proved to the brutish Hindutva goons that the Muslim is as good, as patriotic and as proud an Indian as anyone else. It was an emphatic repudiation of the venomous ideology that has gripped the country in the last decade and reduced Muslims to untouchables. And equally significant, Siraj was surrounded and embraced by teammates - equally proud Indians – whose worldview is the antithesis of all that Modi and his ilk represent! Jai Hind!