As Team India prepares to face England in the five-match Test series, starting on June 20, the dramatic 2021 series echoed in the echo memory-only for its thrilling cricket, but also for extraordinary disruption that saw a delay of about a year in the final match. The 2021 series, like far ahead, marks the onset of a new ICC World Test Championship (WTC) cycle and the inauguration between India and New Zealand began soon after the WTC Final, which was won by a team led by Kane Williamson in a daily bowl in Southempton.The India-England series began in August 2021, but in July 2022 only concluded-not only because of any cricketing cause, but due to a global crisis that re-defines life on the boundaries-Covid-19. Visitors were unable to take the ground with several members of India’s assistant employees, with a fifth and positive test before the final test in Manchester. As a result, the decider was suddenly postponed, both boards later agreed to reorganize it as a standalone test during India’s White-Ball Tour of England in July 2022.
How the series surfaced before a sudden stagnation:
First Test, Nottingham: Rain played SpiilSport at Trent Bridge, where India chased 209 and kept it well, before the last day was washed. Jasprit Bumrah stood out with a 9/110 match, and KL Rahul was impressed by a fluent 84.Second test, of God: India strongly bounced to win by 151 runs. An enthusiastic bowling performance led by KL Rahul’s 129 and Mohammad Siraj (4/94 and 4/32) dropped England for just 120 in his fourth innings.Third test, headingley: England demolished India by an innings and scored an innings and 76 runs in the first innings after taking them out for a paletry 78. Joe Root continued her sublime form with the third century of the series.4 tests, oval: India again shocked the hosts with a return. Despite being behind 99 runs after the first innings, Rohit Sharma, a royal 127, helped India posted in the second innings after 466 and eventually won 157 runs, leading to a 2–1 series lead.The fifth test that has never happened:The final test in Manchester was scheduled to begin on 10 September 2021, with a historic chain win within the speed and rich in India’s favor. However, the game was thrown into chaos when several members of the Indian team, including the head coach Ravi Shastri, conducted a positive test for Kovid -19. As a precaution, the Indian players refused to take the ground. The ECB announced the first delay and then canceled the match.“Due to the possibility of further increase in the number of Kovid cases inside the camp inside the camp, India is unable to field a team.”The BCCI said that the decision was inspired by medical advice and desire to ensure the safety of the player.In the next weeks, both boards worked on finding a solution. Finally, it was agreed that the match would be played in July 2022, and it would still be counted as part of the 2021 series, with a 2–1 lead and reference to the series.A separate team India participated in the field in 2022A lot changed between September 2021 and July 2022. After the South Africa series in January 2022, Virat Kohli made a change in a leadership to India after leaving the post from the Test captaincy. KL Rahul was unavailable due to injury, and finally, Jasprit Bumrah led India – Captain became the first fast bowler in India in a test since Kapil Dev.Despite the upheaval, India posted a strong first holy of 416 in Edgbaston, operating by Rishabh Pant by a breathtaking 146. England responded to 284, and India set him a difficult target of 378. In an extraordinary change, England followed it, riding an unbeaten century from the root (142*), leveling the series 2–2 and pursued his highest success in the test history.A series remembered for more than cricket justWhile the series was a rollercaster of performance in itself – KL Rahul’s flexibility, Bumrah’s talent, the stability of the root for the dusk of pants – this will be remembered for its unprecedented interruptions forever.As India returns to the English coasts for the 2025 series under a new leadership group, the memories of 2021 remind of the fragility of cricket and its remarkable flexibility. From empty stadiums to delayed testing, from biobbals to successes, the 2021 series was a saga that was not only with bat and ball, but by the time it was played.
