The Oval Test: After Rishabh Pant at Old Trafford, injured Chris Woakes walks out to bat in thrilling India-England finale

The ongoing Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy has been a phenomenal advert for Test cricket. When was the last time you saw a five-match Test series having all the matches going down to the wire on the final day? It has been a theater of high quality drama, box office competition between two sides with neither willing to give an inch. Apart from the on-field aggression and high-intensity of gameplay, what has also caught the imagination has been players putting their bodies on the line to keep their team in the contest.

 

Rishabh Pant at Old Trafford came out to bat even after having a series-ending toe fracture to add a few more runs to the total. More than the amount of runs he scored, it is the fighting spirit he showed that was symbolical of Shubman Gill's young side. On Monday (August 4), it was an Englishman who thrilled everyone with his daredevil approach. Chris Woakes, who had been ruled out of the game on the first day of this Test due to a shoulder dislocation, came out to bat as England needed him with the match and series on the line.

 

When England lost Josh Tongue to Prasidh Krishna's searing yorker, they still needed 17 to get and you just knew that Woakes would turn up. He had to and England knew he would. Joe Root at the press conference after Day 4 had given a hint that he would bat if needed. And boy, didn't they need him now, even if it to just hold an end. 

 

Woakes walked out to a standing ovation, his left shoulder clearly put under full protection with a hidden sling and it was obvious that he could only use his top hand, that is his left hand. Over the years, cricketers putting their bodies on the line in tough games have always been historical. Anil Kumble coming to bowl with a broken jaw and Graeme Smith walking out to bat with a broken hand are two iconic examples for us.

 

To that list, undoubtedly we can add Pant and Woakes for their impeccable grit that defined the existence of Test cricket in today's fast-paced era dominated by T20 cricket.

 

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