India captain Shubman Gill paid tribute to Chris Woakes after he heroically came out to bat with a dislocated shoulder during England’s dramatic defeat in the fifth Test.
Woakes walked to the crease with his arm in a sling to support Gus Atkinson when England needed 17 to win the final Test and the series.
Atkinson farmed the strike for two overs, keeping the injured Woakes at the non-striker’s end, before the Surrey bowler was bowled by Mohammed Siraj with England falling just seven runs short of victory.
India’s dramatic victory deprived England of a series-clinching win at the Oval, with the epic series instead finishing 2-2.
The India team to a man approached Woakes to commend him on his bravery to come out to bat with a dislocated shoulder
Speaking after the six-run win, India captain Gill said: ‘I didn’t expect him to come out like that, batting with one hand. Kudos to him.
‘It was very, very brave. I didn’t expect him to come out like that, batting with one hand, the other in the sweater, but good on him for showing that courage.’
Discussing India’s series-drawing win more generally, Gill added: ‘It means so much.
‘This was a very hard-fought series. Both teams throwing punches and you could never really predict after day four who was going to win the match.
‘We are a young team but before the start of the series, we spoke about how we didn’t want to be looked at as a young team. We wanted to be a gun team and I think we showed that today.
‘Nothing beats Test cricket. It’s the most rewarding format. You work so hard over five days and even before the Test starts, there’s so many mental and physical challenges in this format.
‘Once you’re able to succeed, it’s the most satisfying and rewarding format.’
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