Former India spinner R Ashwin has hailed the recently-concluded Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy, calling the series “slightly better than even the 2005 Ashes.”
The inaugural Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy swung one way and then the other, before coming to a blockbuster conclusion at The Oval on Monday (August 4). With England needing 35 runs to win the series 3-1, and India needing four wickets to draw it 2-2, it was the visitors who eventually came out on top, as Chris Woakes coming out to bat with his left arm in a sling only added to the drama.
Between the quality of cricket on display, the needle between the sides and each Test going into the fifth day, the series naturally drew comparisons to the Ashes series of 2005, one of the most iconic at the top level in recent memory.
Former India spinner R Ashwin thinks this series outdid the 2005 Ashes, which ended 2-1 in England's favour, thanks to the “imperfections” on either side.
'I think this series was slightly better than even the 2005 Ashes'
“A lot of people are comparing this series with the 2005 Ashes, but I think this series was slightly better than even the 2005 Ashes – because there was so much more imperfection, from both sides,” Ashwin said on his YouTube channel, Ash ki Baat.
“If you look at that Australian team, there was Glenn McGrath, Shane Warne, you had Michael Kasprowicz, Shaun Tait. From this side [England] you had Simon Jones, Steve Harmison, you had Ashley Giles. There was a lot of experience in the bowling attacks. There was experience in the batting too. There was a lot of hard-fought cricket, where you couldn't see a lot of mistakes. It was hard-fought.”
Ashwin: Players corrected their mistakes and got better
“In this series, there were a lot of mistakes,” Ashwin added. “But the young players have corrected their mistakes and gotten better through the series. You had somebody like KL Rahul who's not put a foot wrong in the series. Then you had somebody like a Rishabh Pant or Shubman Gill, who made errors – both got run out once – they played some poor shots and got out at the crucial moments.
“In the bowling too, Mohammed Siraj has had some down spells, Prasidh [Krishna] has had some ordinary spells. England have bowled poorly, but have fought back through Ben Stokes. So there has been a lot of imperfection. There was a lot of perfection in the 2005 Ashes, but we got to see a lot of imperfection in this series.
“And that's the beauty of it. Players corrected their vulnerabilities, and made this series like a festival for us. [For] anyone who paid money to go watch the match, no one would say they didn't have their money's worth. Twenty-five days of riveting cricket, and I could give anything to watch this series, I have not missed a moment.”
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