The goal is to pull off a 3-2 series win after trailing 0-2, a feat rarely seen in cricket. Despite the historical difficulty, India's resurgence during their hard-fought win at Trent Bridge has put them in a position to make history as one of only two teams to ever achieve such a turnaround in a five-Test series.
History might be against them yet at the same time India rose up out of their resurgent performance in the uneven triumph at Trent Bridge preparing to stun the world and discussing only the second team to come up from 2-0 down to win a five-Test series.
Only Don Bradman's 1936-37 Australian squad has managed a similar comeback to win the Ashes. Kohli, a player who thrives under such immense pressure, spoke with great optimism after a dominant performance where he scored 200 runs, including his second century of the series.
“If we keep playing this brand of cricket, we absolutely can do it,” Kohli remarked following his 22nd win as captain, moving him within five victories of MS Dhoni’s national record. “External critics might have written us off when we were down 2-0, but inside the dressing room, our belief stayed intact. We ignore the noise and just keep pushing. It's not about who gets the runs or the wickets; it's about every single player stepping up and delivering when it counts.”
Head coach and former player Ravi Shastri emphasized the need for mental toughness, noting, “It's all about discipline. You have to be okay with looking ungainly and leaving plenty of deliveries; there are no easy ways out. To beat a pairing like Stuart Broad and James Anderson—who have nearly 1,000 wickets between them—in their own backyard, you have to grind them down. Regardless of the batsman's reputation, you have to accept that scoring a century means being prepared to bat for five hours.”
