The boys have, in a trial by fire on the field of cricket, been honed into men. India may have drawn their overseas Test series with England but the honours, without a doubt, belong to the visitors. This is not being said on the basis of emotion — but on the basis of reason. India travelled to the original home of cricket with a young side and an inexperienced captain. The loss of the Lord’s Test in a close contest can be attributed to their collective inexperience. But the manner in which India first drew the fourth Test and then snatched victory from the jaws of defeat at The Oval in the final match underscores the fact that Shubman Gill’s era as the Indian Test captain has begun. India were also hampered in their bowling department with Jasprit Bumrah playing only three matches and Mohammed Shami missing the tour on account of poor fitness. But the remaining bowlers, led by the irrepressible Mohammed Siraj, did a commendable job. Their performance augurs well for the future of Indian cricket. The Indian batsmen scaled new heights as well: they scored the most number of centuries — 12 — in a single Test series on this tour. So the success in England can be attributed to team effort and not individual brilliance. Credit must also be given to the head coach, Gautam Gambhir, for rallying the team: he has been under the cosh for India’s poor Test record in recent times.

It can perhaps be said that apart from Team India, another entity ended up winning hearts in the course of this English summer. This is Test cricket itself. The oldest, toughest and longest form of the game often finds itself in the corner given the rise in popularity of truncated versions such as Twenty20 cricket. But each of the Test matches in England showed that Test match cricket need not be sent to cricket’s mortuary yet: in fact, if this is the kind of exciting cricket that is played, it may well get resurrected. Players, administrators, sponsors, broadcasters and the International Cricket Council must create the right conditions to get spectators back into the ground for Test cricket. It is not impossible. India and England have shown how it can be done.