It was Test cricket at its glorious best and India should take heart that they came close to winning

“Test match cricket is lovely. It’s my favourite. There’s nothing better than testing yourself against top quality for five days.” – Virat Kohli

The blue sky and 22 players in white doting a green outfield. It is an image that has symbolised cricket for centuries. It could even force a few fans to skip a beat. Most aspiring cricketers dream of being part of such a picture. Only a few end up making it into the frame. And just a small section of these few players end up playing a thrilling contest that tests your skills in a way that only a Test match can.

On Saturday at Edgbaston, India and England were involved in one such gripping contest. Both sides were in with a chance. Each ball had meaning. Each change in the field placement had a bearing on the proceedings. It was an enthralling passage of cricket, one that only seldom arises in the lives of India cricket fans.

An animated Kohli was batting in the middle, confident of his ability but wary of the outcome. His side was losing wickets rapidly. He was the lone hope. With an overnight score of 43 going into day four, Kohli had already stamped his class. A gritty 149 in the first essay had ensured the burden of expectations was squarely on his shoulders. India had five wickets in hand before play began on Saturday. Kohli was in. There was a sense of nervous confidence. Kohli has led India to victory on so many occasions now that one could be excused to assume that he would do so with ease in this scenario as well.

But, this was Test cricket of the highest caliber. The ball was moving around. England’s bowlers had a spring in their steps and the English crowd was boisterous. Despite the modest target, odds seemed stacked against Kohli and Co. But, such is the charm of Test cricket that hope never dwindles. Your team is always in with a chance. A small partnership here, a few streaky boundaries there can well determine a win, loss or even a draw.

At Edgbaston, only two results were possible. Exhilarating victory and heart-breaking defeat. Not only would the defeat hurt, but it could even leave a scar. For one has toiled away for days and invested heavily in the outcome of this contest.

Both sides had toiled for three and a half days to stand in a position where victory was in sight. Kohli would have felt it the most. His counter-attacking century in the first innings was the reason why India were in with a chance on Thursday.

His battles with James Anderson and Ben Stokes were the highlight of the contest. The bowlers made the ball move significantly through the course of the game. Kohli, though, was batting at another level. He was making adjustments and adapting to the challenge. That he was good at most part of it frustrated the Englishmen and kept India in the contest. But, the odds soon caught up with him. He was trapped in front of the stumps on 51 by Ben Stokes. He had added 200 runs to the Indian total over the course of two innings, almost half of what India ended up putting on the board.

Each run mattered, each player knew the significance. Kohli’s departure took the wind out of India’s sails. Hardik Pandya tried his best to keep the visitors’ afloat but could not resist for long. England prevailed by 31 runs. India had come tantalisingly close to winning just their 7th Test in the Old Blighty.

That figure - just six wins - is testament to the hard work that goes into winning a five-day contest in England. As Indian fans we seldom get a thriller in Test cricket. A combination of dull wickets and one tone conditions have severely restricted the possibility of nail-biting finishes in the sub-continent.

To say the wicket in Birmingham was easy to play on would be wrong. It was clearly tilted in favour of the bowlers. The batsmen, though, deserve credit to have still managed to assert themselves. In the end, England prevailed thanks to a cameo from all-rounder Sam Curran late on day three. The 20-year-old’s 63-run knock in the second innings proved the difference between the two sides.

India by contrast failed to conjure up a partner for the lonely Kohli, who was up for the challenge but kept running out of partners. A few partnerships and the result would have been a lot different. But, it wasn’t to be.

Despite that, R Ashwin’s delightful spell on day one, Kohli’s perseverance, Ishant Sharma’s terrific five-wicket haul, were some of the biggest takeaways for India. Add to that Anderson’s clinical spell in the first innings, young Curran’s star turn with both bat and ball, Stokes’ fiery spell on the fourth day, and you have a concoction of events that made for some quality viewing.

It was sports at its best. It was a gripping contest that reminded us once again that Test cricket was alive and kicking.

Despite the loss, India do deserve their share of credit in making the game such a thriller. The Englishmen made them work through the match. Scoring runs was a task. But despite the situation, the visitors stood toe to toe with the hosts.

India, though, will take confidence from the fact that they were up to the task. In their first Test on the tour they were almost equal to their opponents. This despite the fact that most members of the batting unit failed to turn up. With four more Tests to follow, they will back themselves to produce a better show.