Legendary Sunil Gavaskar has revealed his “enduring moment” from the recently concluded Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy series which ended in a 2-2 draw between India and England.
The 76-year-old Gavaskar highlighted many moments from the series. But he picked Mohammed Siraj’s yorker that dismissed Gus Atkinson to seal a thrilling six-run victory for India in the fifth Test at The Oval, as the “enduring moment” of the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy series.
“There will be several moments to cherish from the series: Gill’s batting — very rarely do you get to see batting as pure as this – and his captaincy, Stokes’ superhuman efforts with both bat and ball, the Indian fast bowlers’ marathon spells, Joe Root’s classy centuries, Rishabh Pant batting as only he can, as also Harry Brook and both also chirping as only they can.
But the enduring memory will always be Mohammed Siraj’s yorker that flattened the off-stump of Gus Atkinson to give India a win to level the series. After the disappointing last season in Test cricket, this would no doubt be the happiest moment in recent times for Indian cricket lovers. Thank you, Shubman, and your boys,” Gavaskar wrote in his column for Sportstar.
Meanwhile, Gavaskar also criticised the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) for not inviting Sachin Tendulkar and James Anderson to present the trophy named after them, after the end of India vs 2025 England Test series.
The newly minted Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy series played between India and England ended in a 2-2 draw. However, neither Tendulkar nor Anderson were present during the trophy presentation ceremony despite both being in England at that time.
The legendary batter questioned ECB’s conduct and drew parallels to what happened earlier in the year in Australia, where he was not included in the presentation ceremony and it was just Allan Border who presented the trophy at the end of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy.
“This was the first-ever series named after Sachin Tendulkar and Jimmy Anderson, two of cricket’s greatest legends. One would have expected both to be present to hand the trophy to the two captains, especially since the series ended in a draw,” Gavaskar wrote.
“To the best of one’s knowledge, both were in England at the time. So, were they simply not invited? Or was this similar to what happened in Australia earlier this year, when only Allan Border was asked to present the Border-Gavaskar Trophy because Australia had won the series? Since this England series was drawn, perhaps neither was asked to attend the presentation,” he added.