Bowlers’ late charge helps India script famous victory

Mohammed Siraj and Jasprit Bumrah‘s late surge ensured the hosts couldn’t limp away with a draw.

It was the Indian tail that wagged, and wagged well enough to help the visitors secure a remarkable victory at Lord’s. After conceding a first innings lead, not many gave the visitors a chance to win, but Team India dug deep and etched out a result that at one point seemed unlikely.

After being put into bat in overcast conditions, India once again relied heavily on their opening pair to see them through the first few sessions. Openers KL Rahul and Rohit Sharma did just that, with a century partnership that helped India set the foundation for a big first innings score. Putting on 126, the opening pair saw off a solid spell from James Anderson, Ollie Robinson and Mark Wood. After Sharma got out, Anderson and Robinson made further inroads to leave the visitors at 276/3, with their sights on a 400 plus total.

The second day morning, though, started in the worst possible way as India lost both of their overnight batters in the matter of seven balls and it took some valuable contributions from Rishabh Pant and Ravindra Jadeja to get them to a respectable 364.

The hosts got off to a horrible start once again and were 23/2 at one stage after Siraj’s double strike but it was their captain, Joe Root, who once again pulled his team out from a tricky condition with a fabulous 180*, and with handy contributions from Rory Burns and Jonny Bairstow, England took a 27-run first innings lead.

After all the heroics in the first innings, England managed to get both Indian openers out cheaply in the second innings, with Mark Wood being the chief wrecker. Defiance from Cheteshwar Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane meant India ended Day 4 at 181/6, being 154 runs ahead, but it was England’s match to lose on the final day.

Playing four outright seamers meant India’s tail started from number 8 with Ishant Sharma, and once Robinson removed both Pant and Sharma early on Day 5, England could sniff victory as all they needed to do now was wrap up the tail fast and get the remaining runs with around 75 overs to bat. When Robinson trapped Ishant Sharma in front, India were 182/8 with Bumrah and Siraj left, neither of whom is known for his batting prowess.

However, what happened over the next 20 overs changed the course of the game.

England went flat out with the bumper barrage at Bumrah and the two tail-enders ended up using England’s aggressive approach to their advantage. Not only did Shami and Bumrah see out precious time from England’s chase, they also scored at a quick rate that helped India build a priceless lead.

Shami, who is generally known for his mindless swinging, put in some method behind the madness and played a calm and composed innings that outclassed and caught the English bowlers off guard. His partner Bumrah, who was being battered with short balls, threw the kitchen sink at everything and luckily for him, he came out on top.

When England should have been trying to quickly wrap up the tail and the Test match, they thought of bullying the Indian lower order and ended up on the receiving end. By the time Kohli declared, Shami and Bumrah had put on 89 priceless runs that helped them take their lead to 271.

With 64 overs left and 272 to get, it looked like the match was most likely heading for a draw. The Indian pace quartet, though, had different plans. Bumrah and Shami continued their assault on the English batters and the fragile opening pair once again succumbed to the mastery of the Indian seamers, leaving Root to climb a mountain once again.

However, Bumrah wasn’t going to let Root get away this time. After what looked like defiance from Root to see out the overs, Bumrah did what he does best and got Root with a perfect delivery which held its line coming in from wide of the crease.

Once Root fell, it was only a matter of time before the rest would too. Without Ben Stokes, the hosts have had a nightmare with the bat and even though Jos Buttler dug in deep tooth and nail, Siraj made sure England would not escape Lord’s with a draw.

Heading to Leeds with the lead in the five-Test series will definitely give the visitors a much-needed boost, but they know very well that the hosts can come back and ruin the show for them.

England head into this eight-day break with multiple questions, mainly related to their batting. After having brought in reinforcements for the second Test, which seems to have failed, they now know they can’t keep relying on Root to dig them out of tricky situations every time.

Who will they turn to now? Will Zak Crawley return? Is it time for Dawid Malan to come to the red ball set-up? Does James Vince become an option now? These are questions that the English management will go over before hitting the ground at Leeds on August 25.

India, on the other hand, will breathe a sigh of relief. Not only did their tail wag, Jasprit Bumrah led from the front to showcase why he is one of the best in the business right now, and with Rahane and Pujara getting some crucial runs under their belts, it bodes well for the visitors who will be looking to take a first series win in England since 2007.