The spirit says India 'won' this one: Anand Mahindra, after Gill & Co draw test series against England

Anand Mahindra hailed India’s fighting spirit after Shubman Gill and his men pulled off a comeback in the recently concluded Test series, ending it at 2–2 against England. While the official result reads as a drawn series, Mahindra said the resilience shown by the Indian side told a different story.

“The scoreboard reads 2–2 and the series is drawn. But the spirit says India WON this one,” Mahindra posted on X (formerly Twitter), minutes after the final Test concluded.

He underlined the psychological win India achieved by refusing to give in, especially after being pushed to the edge earlier in the series. “Because when you come back from the brink and refuse to fold, the scoreboard doesn’t tell the whole story,” he wrote.


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Quoting legendary American football coach Vince Lombardi, Mahindra added, “It’s not whether you get knocked down, it’s whether you get up.”
The post drew strong engagement from cricket fans, many of whom echoed the sentiment that India’s ability to bounce back showed depth, character, and belief, traits not always reflected on the final scorecard. Mahindra has often used his social media platforms to comment on sporting performances, particularly those that showcase resilience and leadership, values that mirror his corporate ethos.

Siraj's magical spell

The perseverant Mohammed Siraj's warrior spirit steered India to a series-levelling six-run victory over England in the fifth and final Test here on Monday, bringing a fitting end to one of the most intensely-fought and drama-filled showdowns in recent times.

With four wickets in hand and 35 runs to get, England held the edge before start of play but the gladiator in Siraj made life hell for the opposition batters from ball one.

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In the end, his effort, complemented quite well by Prasidh Krishna at the other end, left England short by the thinnest of margins and allowed India to sign off 2-2 in the high-pressure five-match rubber.

The decision to call off play on day four before cut-off time after a brief spell of rain was questioned by the likes of Stuart Broad and Michael Vaughan but it seemed fitting that the series-decider went to the final day with both teams fighting tooth and nail from start to finish.

The day started with bright sunshine but two hours before start of play, the clear skies made way for dark clouds, giving more hope to India and their fans who ensured a sellout crowd at The Oval on day five. The 25 pounds non-refundable ticket helped fill the 27,500 capacity facility in no time.

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The ground's chief curator Lee Fortis, who made headlines before theb start of the game for his verbal spat with India head coach Gautam Gambhir, used the heavy roller for one last time which usually makes batting a tad easier in the first 30 minutes of play.

When proceedings finally began, the new ball was due in 22 balls but England expectedly went on the offensive in overcast conditions from the word go.

Prasidh Krishna, who had four balls left from his 23rd over overnight, bowled a short ball to start with and Jamie Overton did well to pull it away for a four. An inside edge the following ball meant back to back fours for England, reducing the target to 27 runs.

Siraj, India's stoic warrior in the series, made the old ball talk in his opening over from the pavilion end and immediately got the ball to shape away.

The dangerous Jamie Smith (2) was beaten in the first two balls before a third one in the off-stump area took the outside edge on way to the keeper, causing the sizeable Indian fandom in the stadium to erupt in unison.

Every ball of that Siraj over was an event.

"I always believe in myself, that I can pull off a win from any situation," Siraj later said of his match-winning performance that fetched him nine wickets in the game, including a fifer in the all-important second innings.

Following the much-needed breakthrough, a half chance was created against Gus Atkinson the very next ball on the fifth stump but that half chance was not taken by K L Rahul at second slip.

In his following over, Siraj foxed Overton with a nip backer as the batter expected the bowler to continue with the off-stump line.

The on-field decision was reviewed by Overton but the ball was just clipping the leg-stump. England still needed 20 to win at that stage.

Prasidh backed up Siraj from the other end by reducing England to 350 for nine, a full ball trapping Josh Tongue in front and drawing a deafening roar from the partisan crowd.

What followed next would feature among the great moments of on-field bravado.

A game after Rishabht Pant came out to bat with a fractured foot for India, Chris Woakes walked into the centre with a tied broken left arm, prompting everyone in the stadium to stand in respect.

That moment of immense courage took one back to 1963 when Colin Cowdrey came out to bat with a broken arm and helped England secure a draw against the West Indies.

With Woakes in no position to bat, Atkinson did not have an option but to use the long handle.

He targeted the straight boundary and managed to clear Akash Deep who got his hands on the ball only to send it over the ropes.

The target soon was in single digits and with Atkinson doing well to keep himself on strike, India had to go for one final roll of the dice.

With field spread out, Siraj fired a yorker to shatter Atkinson's off-stump, bringing a heart-stopping end to the game.