India Conquer Lord’s with a Resounding Victory

India clinched a thriller by winning the 2^nd Test Match by a huge margin of 151 runs. India now have taken a 1-0 lead in the 5 Test Match Series. This was India’s 3^rd   Victory at Lord’s as earlier in 1986 under the leadership of Kapil Dev India had won by 5 wickets whereas in 2014 under MS Dhoni India had won by 95 runs.

England had elected to bowl first as there were cloudy conditions. Rohit Sharma & K.L. Rahul showed immense grit & determination as they scored the 1^st 100 opening partnership for India in SENA (South Africa, England, New Zealand & Australia) Countries after 2010. K.L. Rahul displayed a proper Test Match Inning as he played a knock of 129 runs. Rohit Sharma was undone by a peach of a delivery from the sensation of swing bowling James Anderson as Rohit scored 83 runs. India was looking set for a total of in excess 400 runs but England restricted India to 364 runs. Virat Kohli failed to capitalize on his start as he hasn’t scored a century in Test Cricket since November 2019. James Anderson took his 31^st 5 wicket haul and test by test he is getting younger & better as Joe Root is giving him long spells.

England’s top order’s woes were seen where the batsmen were making same mistakes. Haseeb Hameed who made his debut against India in 2016 had a forgettable comeback as he was dismissed for a duck on the very first ball by the speedster Mohammed Siraj. Joe Root & Rory Burns tried to steady the ship but Rory lost his concentration and gave India a chance to make a comeback. Burns scored 49 runs & would rue the fact that he was well set as he had faced 136 runs. Joe Root then played a marathon innings as he scored a gigantic knock of 180 runs. He was well accompanied by Jonny Bairstow who scored 57 runs; while he would be somewhat relieved that he has contributed to team’s score as he has been on the radar since the last couple of years. England got bundled out for 391 runs as they got a slender lead of 27 runs. Jasprit Bumrah had bowled 13 no balls in the first innings which is a worrying sign for India as he is one of India’s lethal fast bowlers. Siraj bowled impeccable lines & length’s which forced the batsmen to make a mistake as he took 4 wickets. The experienced campaigner Ishant Sharma took 3 wickets who is currently playing his 4^th Test Series in England guided the bowling line up.

India started their innings with a careful approach as it was necessary to see off the new ball. All of a sudden India lost Rohit, Rahul & Kohli when their lead was just 28 runs. Then Cheteshwar Pujara & Ajinkya Rahane went into ultra-defensive mode as most of the times they were blocking & leaving the ball. Pujara showed his class as he faced 206 balls & scored 45 runs as he took the pressure off from Rahane. Rahane departed by scoring 61 runs just when the lead was looking threatening. India were looking in a spot of bother where their lead was 188 runs but then from no where Mohammed Shami & Jasprit Bumrah stitched a partnership of 89 runs. Shami scored 56 runs whereas Bumrah frustrated England by scoring 34 runs. Joe Root made a blunder by keeping fielders at boundaries for these two batsmen which is not acceptable at this level. Mark Wood was the pick of the bowlers as he took 3 wickets and was breaking partnerships. England’s bowlers didn’t try to execute Yorker on a consistent basis as the best way to dismiss a tail-ender is to thrash his stumps. England had a target of an improbable 271 runs to chase in a span of 60 overs or to salvage a draw by playing out 60 overs.

India’s fast bowlers Bumrah & Shami dismissed both the openers for duck in their 1^st over as England was seen rattled. Root once again carried the burden of taking the team out of trouble. Half of England’s team was dismissed under 23 overs whereas this time Root was dismissed early. The onus was on Jos Buttler & Moeen Ali to eke out a draw. India’s bowlers were hunting in a pack as there was no sight of relief.  With 2 wickets left and 9 overs remaining it was a nervy situation as Buttler was still there who was looking unperturbed. Siraj came in to bowl the 52^nd over & then Buttler saw a wide delivery and throwed his hands to it and nicked the ball to the wicket-keeper Rishabh Pant which opened the gate of victory and then Siraj wasted no more time as he castled James Anderson’s stumps and India won the Test Match. The entire bowling line up of India now is proving to be a force to reckon with. Siraj took 4 wickets in the 2^nd innings and a total of 8 wickets in the Test Match. The captaincy of Virat Kohli was spot on as he was in an attacking mode which didn’t allow the batsmen to rotate the strike.

This loss would hurt England a lot as on Day 5 they were in a state of commanding position. Their top order needs to be revamped and that has been done as ECB (England Cricket Board) have axed Dominic Sibley & Zak Crawley and in their place Dawid Malan has been named. Malan last played a Test Match against India in 2018. Mark Wood’s availability is uncertain as a result the uncapped Saqib Mahmood has been named. England have been jolted with these blows as earlier before the start of 2^nd Test Match Stuart Broad got injured. If England wants to win this Test Series, then it would require a hurricane effort as currently India is in ascendancy.

India would be happy that their bowlers created a miracle out of no where as bowling out a team out of 60 overs doesn’t happen too often. The only area they would be concerned that Pujara, Kohli & Rahane are not scoring the bulk of the runs. India needs to use Siraj carefully and not make the same mistake which they made with Bumrah by playing him in all matches.

There was a lot of sledging done by England & India which says a lot about the rivalry but at the same time the major focus needs to be on the field. Earlier in 2014 there was a spat between Jadeja & Anderson which was carried all the way till the end of the series and now there is between Bumrah & Anderson.

In 2014 England had lost the Test Match at Lord’s which was the 2^nd Test Match of the Series and then went on to win the Test Series by 3-1 under the leadership of the Sir Alastair Cook; Root would hope & believe that his team can turn the tide by taking a leaf out of that Series. India should not give any chance to England because the shift of momentum can prove a decisive point.