The ongoing Test series between India and England has been a humdinger. Enthralling cricket, ebbs and flows, high drama, scintillating performances with bat and ball, and the emergence of some special young talent. India’s 3-1 victory is one for the ages. On par with the 2001 series 2-1 win against an Aussie side at the top of their game and especially remembered for VVS Laxman’s epochal 281 at the Eden Gardens, Kolkata. Come to think of it the present bilateral Tests have some parallels with India’s ‘Miracle Down Under’ another 2-1 triumph under Rahane’s captaincy in 2021. The Men in Blue scripted the greatest comeback in Test match history with Kohli returning home after the first Test defeat. No Shami, no KL Rahul, and injuries to Bumrah, Jadeja, Umesh Yadav, Ashwin and Hanuma Vihari. The current India squad has no Kohli, KL Rahul, Shami and Rishabh Pant. The visitors also lost their spinner Jack Leach through a knee injury in the first test at Hyderabad.

The term Bazball is coined after England Team Coach Brendon McCullum’s nickname ‘Baz.’ It refers to the aggressive style of batting by English batters. It has worked well for the McCullum–Stokes partnership- 14 Test wins, 7 losses, 1 draw thus far. Remember they beat Pakistan 3-0 in Pakistan. England’s run rate in Test matches touched 4.76 per over, never matched in the history of the game. The Indian tour was seen as The Last Frontier for Bazball and obviously, it has come apart. Social media has gone crazy with ‘RIP Bazball’ & ‘Bazball meets its Waterloo’. After the 4^th Test Indian fans had a field day, ‘Haar gaya Bazball, Jeet gaya Bat-Ball’ (Bazball loses, Bat-ball wins). But I salute McCullum- Ben Stokes for stoking life into Test cricket. It has become exciting again with twists and turns every session.

Now to the Three Aces. Their humble backgrounds, struggles, challenges, and sensational success have added an emotional and inspiring dimension to this Test contest. The cricket field has verily become their ‘Karmabhoomi.’ The 22-year-old Yashashvi Jaiswal’s (Ace of Clubs) tale has been aptly captured by the Forbes India headline, ‘From battling hunger to developing an insatiable hunger for runs’. A remarkable rags-to-riches story of a 10-year-old from a small town in UP relocating to Mumbai in search of his cricketing dreams. He first worked and stayed at a dairy shop but was fired because he was obsessed with the sport. Then he moved to one of the tents in Azad Maidan, Mumbai, and lived with the groundsman. He sold ‘pani-puri’ in the evenings to make ends meet. His parents repeatedly told him to come back home but he had marked his guard. In a 2018 interview with News 18, his mother Kanchan shared his response, ‘Main maidan mein he rahunga to sab kuch asan hoga. Subhe uthe he meri samne cricket hota hai’ (If I stay on the ground everything will be easy. As soon as I wake up I see cricket in front of me.).

Another challenge the boy had to face was the canard that he was over-age and had fudged his real age. Clubs and teams stayed away. Providentially, he was spotted by Jwala Singh who not only decided to train him but provided him with food and accommodation. The mentor/coach himself said in interviews, ‘I wanted to help him because his story is similar to mine. I also came from UP to Mumbai to play cricket so I know the kind of struggle he faced.’ In 2019, he became the youngest cricketer to score a List A club double century, then became the leading run-getter at the U 19 World Cup in 2020. He was then purchased by the Rajasthan Royals at the IPL auction for ₹ 2.4 crores which has now been bumped up to ₹ 4 crores.

In his debut Test Match against the Windies in 2023 he hit an elegant 171. In the ongoing Test series, he has scored 618 runs with two majestic double-hundreds. In the Vizag Test at 94, he walked down the track and lifted the ball over the long-on boundary. With the Dharamshala Test coming up he stands a good chance of beating Kohli’s series record of 655 runs on the England tour of India in 2016-17.  His idol Sachin Tendulkar celebrated his Vizag century celebration picture with the caption, ‘Yashashvi Bhava’ meaning may you see a lot of success.

This Test series is also flavoured with spicy tit-bits- one such served by Ben Duckett who smashed a masterful century at Rajkot in just 88 balls. The Indian opener Jaiswal dominated with an unbeaten 214 and equaled Wasim Akram’s world record of 12 sixes in a Test innings. Duckett claimed ‘that England deserved some credit for Jaiswal’s knock as his batting style followed ‘Bazball’. Commentators, pundits and social media went berserk. Joe Root’s reverse scoop of Bumrah which got him out was discussed ‘as the worst shot in England’s cricket history’. (Sky Sports)

Sarfaraz Khan’s (Ace Of Hearts) has been a long, gritty journey to his Rajkot Test debut. After he received his India cap he rushed to his Abbu and his wife who were cheering for him. He handed over the cap to Naushad Khan who kissed it. All were teary-eyed. A lump-in-the-throat scene straight out of a movie. Naushad Khan had played competitive cricket for Mumbai but could not make the national team. He was living his dreams through his son Sarfaraz. The jersey number of the debutant Test cricketer read 97. Say 9&7 separately in Hindi and you hear the father’s name. The latter is now a cricket coach not only to his sons Sarfaraz and Musheer but also to several aspiring youngsters at the Maidans. Young Sarfaraz was made to work on fitness, batting, bowling, and fielding. From early morning drills to specific diet plans he had to follow strict schedules. Naushad Khan has even set up a synthetic turf around his home in Kurla so that his sons don’t miss practice during monsoons.

At age 12, he scored a record-breaking 439 runs from 421 balls in the Harris Shield-Mumbai’s premier school tournament. He played for India u-19 in 2014 and was second highest scorer in the WC U-19 in 2016. He joined RCB in 2016 at a base price of 20 lacs and played some cameo innings. But questions about his fitness and body weight started doing the rounds. Unfortunately, he missed the IPL 2017 season because of an injury. He shifted to UP to play Ranji trophy and went off the radar. He became one of the many other domestic circuit players.

But the father-son duo didn’t give up.  A flood of runs in the Ranji Trophy-928 in the 2019-20 edition and 982 runs in 20-21 with an average of 82.83 still did not resonate with the national selectors. With some injuries in the Indian camp, Sarfaraz finally got a call to join the Indian squad for the current Test series. Critics were still talking about his body weight. His 50 of 48 balls in the first innings silenced them and his run-out at 62 because of a mix-up with Jadeja became a huge talking point.  The star all-rounder was trolled on social media for denying the debutant his maiden Test century. He apologized to both father and son. Drama and more drama. The aggressive 68 in the second innings also facilitated India’s massive win at Rajkot.

The India cap eluding them for years did not break their spirit. Naushad Khan gave it a beautiful, philosophical spin during his interview with Akash Chopra and several news channels,’ Raat ko  waqt do guzarne ke liye, suraj apne he samaye par niklega.’  Translated as ‘let the night pass at its own pace, the sun will rise at the set time.’ Destiny had planned a perfect time for Sarfaraz’s dream to come true.  He has also thanked Surya Kumar Yadav for insisting that he be physically present for the Rajkot match- a once-in-a-lifetime experience- if his son padded up for India. The only downside for this exciting batter is that for IPL 2024, no side bid for him at his base price of ₹ 20 lakhs. But hope still remains that with Shreyas Iyer and another player struggling with injuries, KKR may reach out to him.

The Third Ace.  Ace of Spades. Ranchi Test. England 353.  India struggling at 177 for 7 and is likely to be bundled out for under 200. England with a big lead wraps up the match and it’s 2-2 before the final Test. Dhruv Jurel in only his second international match scores a match-defining 90 and with Kuldeep Yadav keeps England’s lead down to 46. The rest is history. On reaching 50 he raises his hand in salute to his father Nem Chand Jurel, a retired Army Hawaldar and a Kargil war veteran. His humble background comes through in this story narrated by his father.’ He wanted a cricket kit bag but it was very expensive- some ₹6,000. “I said ‘Mat khelo, Itna paisa nahin hain’. (Leave the game. I don’t have so much money). But his mother decided to pawn her only gold chain and we managed to buy his kit bag.”

At the age of 14 he found his way alone to a cricket academy in Noida and to coach Phoolchand. The boy from Agra played for UP across age groups and became the vice-captain of the Indian team for the U-19 WC2020. By playing for his state in the Syed Mushtaq Ali tournament- India’s no 1 domestic T-20 championship- he caught the eye of the IPL scouts and was picked up by Rajasthan Royals in 2022 for a base price of 20 lakhs.(increased to Rs 50 lakhs for the 2024 season). He got his IPL breakthrough in 2023 and scored 152 runs at a strike rate of 172. His range of shots and ability to play under pressure brought him into the spotlight. The youngster himself says, ‘Hard work is a big thing. I am a big fan of manifestation and visualization.’ Hard Work!! The Rajasthan Royals Performance Director, Zubin Bharucha has revealed that before his Test debut Jurel batted for over 4 hours a day on different surfaces at the Rajasthan Royals High Performance Center at Nagpur. Coming in at No 8 in the 3^rd Test he scored 46 runs.

Just reflect. His IPL SR of 172 and his Ranchi Test innings of 90 & 39 not out under immense pressure SR of 60.40 and 50.64. Calmness, composure, and temperament. Joe Root, his team-mate at RR has this to say, ‘His ability to strike cleanly and blast the ball to all parts is impressive. But to be able to transfer skills to the Test format means he has a very good technique. He is going to be a very good player for years to come.’

With just 15 first-class matches and not all of them as keeper, Jurel has been a revelation behind the stumps. Diving down the leg side, jumping high, or standing up to the stumps his dexterity and reflexes have stood out. Sunil Gavaskar was reminded of ‘a young MSD’ On a lighter note, Jamie Alter posed this question on a cricket podcast, ‘I ask that a wicket-keeper batsman playing at Ranchi and with close connection to the Indian Army, wins the Man of the Match award -which cricketer will come to mind.’ MSD of course. Also, listen in to Ben Stokes, ‘His keeping was something to watch. I think Ben Foakes (England keeper) has a little man crush on him there. There has been a real talent that has emerged in this Test Series and Jurel is one of them.’ England spinner Shoaib Bashir is another with his 8 wickets at Ranchi and a match-winning future ahead.

Cricket is the ultimate winner after these thrilling 4 Test encounters. Nasser Hussain, ‘That’s one of the things I have enjoyed most about this series from both sides. There has been a lot of character on the show and it has made for gripping cricket.’ Leaving the last word to Virat Kohli- his special message for Team India on X, ‘YES!!! Phenomenal series win by our young team. They showed guts, determination, and resilience.’

In a Tarot Card reading, Three Aces symbolize multiple new beginnings, opportunities, a fresh start, or a new environment. It also signifies a dramatic energy shift. May Test cricket regain its charm, popularity, and appeal! This will enhance the entire aura of the game across formats.