"India seized the critical moments" - Saba Karim on the hosts' 'remarkable' 4-1 series win vs England after losing 1st Test
Saba Karim has lauded India for seizing the critical moments and registering a come-from-behind 4-1 win in the five-match Test series against England.
India annihilated England by an innings and 64 runs on the third day of the final Test in Dharamsala on Saturday, March 9. They bundled the visitors out for 195 in their second essay after taking a 259-run first innings lead.
While reviewing the series on Colors Cineplex, Saba Karim praised India for staging a terrific comeback after a reversal in the series opener.
"We were repeatedly calling it a moving day but it was moving towards India only. It was a finishing day. This has been a remarkable journey for India in this series, the counterattack they have done. After they lost the first Test, it seemed like it was going to be a very tightly contested series," he said.
"However, the way India have come back, it started in Vizag, but after that, the biggest thing is that India won this series despite losing tosses. England got many opportunities to make comebacks in the Test matches but India seized the critical moments, and that's why they won the series 4-1 in the end," the former India wicketkeeper added.
Rohit Sharma and Co. took a 190-run first-innings lead in the first Test in Hyderabad but eventually lost the game by 28 runs. However, they bounced back brilliantly to win the final four games and are perched atop the World Test Championship (WTC) points table.
"All the new players and debutants we saw in this series made splendid contributions" - Saba Karim
![Sarfaraz Khan (right) and Dhruv Jurel were two of the debutants who shone in the Test series against England. [P/C: BCCI]](https://statico.sportskeeda.com/editor/2024/03/4aacf-17099822355299-1920.jpg?w=500)
Saba Karim noted that India achieved the win despite the unavailability of some of their established players.
"There were many memorable moments and we got to see many fantastic performances but the biggest thing is that it was achieved without the main players. Virat Kohli isn't part of this team, KL Rahul was unavailable, but all the new players and debutants we saw in this series made splendid contributions," he elaborated.
The cricketer-turned-commentator added that India outplayed England on pitches that assisted all facets of the game.
"On top of that, the experienced players gave match-winning performances, whether it was Jasprit Bumrah, Ravichandran Ashwin or Ravindra Jadeja. The wickets in all Test matches encouraged evenly contested competition and India defeated England in all three aspects - batting, pace bowling and spin bowling," Saba Karim stated.
Yashasvi Jaiswal (712) and Shubman Gill (452) were India's top two run-getters. While Ravichandran Ashwin (26) was the highest wicket-taker in the series, Jasprit Bumrah, Kuldeep Yadav and Ravindra Jadeja accounted for 19 dismissals apiece for the hosts.