IPL 2023. Done. But cricket? NOT DONE YET! Quickly, catch your breath, and move on. The World Test Championship 2023 final is here. Billed as the ‘Ultimate Test of the Year’, the Indian cricket team - led by ‘Hitman’ Rohit Sharma - are seeking to end their voodoo for the iconic Test mace against the mighty Australia at The Oval from June 7-11.

Finalists in the inaugural edition and finalists yet again, India’s never-say-die attitude saw them defeat New Zealand (1-0), Sri Lanka (2-0), Bangladesh (2-0), and Australia (2-1). Their only loss came at the hands of South Africa (1-2), while a 2-2 draw against England opened the floodgates of the 2021-23 cycle.

How did our first assignment of the WTC 2021-23 cycle pan out? We recap the events here.

The 1st Test | Nottingham - DRAW

It was rain that had the final laugh. Bowling first, India put one foot on the accelerator in the opening Test as they bowled out England for 183 in the first innings thanks to Jasprit Bumrah (4/46) and Mohammed Shami (3/28). The 95-run first-innings lead, established with half-centuries from KL Rahul (84) and Ravindra Jadeja (56), would be trumped over by the hosts in the second innings. Joe Root's 109 lifted ENG past 300 and gave India a 209-run target. Intervention from the rain gods disrupted play on the final day, and the points would be split.

The 2nd Test | Lord’s - India Win

A 1-0 lead, a Test win at the 'Home of Cricket'; Quite a fightback after the first match. Don't you agree, Paltan? Batting first, India rode on the momentum set by KL Rahul (129) and Rohit Sharma (83) to round up a score of 364. In reply, Joe Root's unbeaten 180 helped England carry a slender 27-run lead. Ajinkya Rahane's 61, the century stand with Cheteshwar Pujara (45), and the determined unbroken 89-run partnership between Mohammed Shami and Jasprit Bumrah helped India overcome ENG’s 27-run lead and set a daunting 272-run target for England.

The England batting order stood no chance in the second innings, as the Indian bowlers reduced ENG to 5-67 by 22.3 overs, and thanks to Mohammed Siraj (4/32), IND bagged a comprehensive 151-run win and series lead.

The 3rd Test | Headingley - England Win

Our momentum was brought to an instant standstill. Led by James Anderson (3/6) and Craig Overton (3/14), England steamrolled over India and bowled them out for a paltry 78 in the first innings. When they would step out to bat, confident batting from the top order and Root's consecutive ton elevated the hosts to 350/3. Shami (4/95), however, would influence India to grab the next seven wickets for 82 and stare at a 354-run deficit going into the second innings.

Three of IND's top-four - Rohit (59), Pujara (91) and skipper Virat Kohli (55) - pitched in half-centuries to give the visitors a score of 237/4 in 89.6 overs. However, Ollie Robinson (5/65) and Overton (3/47) swept away hopes of an Indian fightback and bowled us out for 278. This meant we conceded defeat by an innings and 76 runs.

The 4th Test | Oval - India Win

Rohit Sharma’s match-winning 127 earned a series-levelling win and a first win at the Oval since 1971. Withstanding Robinson’s 3/38 and Chris Woakes’s 4/55, India rallied to 191 in 61.3 overs only because of Virat Kohli and Shardul Thakur’s half-centuries. Like India, England banked on half-tons in the middle and lower order to muster 290 in their first innings.

Stepping out for the second innings, India upped the ante. Hitman’s 127 and fifties from Pujara (61), Rishabh Pant (50) and Thakur (60) pushed the visitors to 466. After taking three wickets in the first innings, Umesh Yadav grabbed a three-fer again (3/60) as IND trapped England within a score of 210 and walked away with a morale-boosting 157-run victory.

The 5th Test | Edgbaston - England Win

A dramatic finish to the series. First, postponement through COVID-19, then re-shuffle of the coaching staff, captaincy, and finally, BAZBALL. 

Where one fell short, another would rise. That was the case in this Test as India posted 416 in the first innings, thanks to Rishabh Pant (146) and Ravindra Jadeja (104), and England saw only one centurion - Johnny Bairstow (106) in their innings of 284. Tables were turned in the second innings, as England captain Ben Stokes grabbed four wickets to bundle out India for 245 and set an eventually favourable situation - chase 378 and level the five-match series. In 76.4 overs, ENG would achieve their target, all thanks to unbeaten 100s from Root and Bairstow.

The lasting memory from the Test, however, was our very own Jasprit Bumrah doing a Yuvraj Singh to poor Stuart Broad, smashing him for 29 runs in an over, making it the most expensive over in Test cricket history, ever.