India's Test series against England showcased thrilling finishes, while recent matches against South Africa highlighted poor pitch conditions.

This English summer threw up a rare eventuality – all five Tests between the hosts and Shubman Gill ’s India went to the fifth day. Four were decided in the final session of the match, the fifth (the decider at the Oval) in the first hour of the fifth morning.

That was made possible by two evenly matched sides going toe-to-toe on excellent batting surfaces (in at least three games); the weather didn’t play a major part except at the Oval. Qualitatively, they may not have been the five best games in the history of Test cricket, but for sheer drama and competitiveness and the unending ebbs and flows, they will collectively be hard to match.

Contr

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