Lord’s Test: Top Indian performers
India beat England by 151 runs in the Lord’s Test to go 1-0 up in the five match Test Series. This was just the 3rd time that India registered a win at the home of cricket. India first registered a win at Lord’s under Kapil Dev’s captainship (5-wicket win) in 1986 followed by a win in 2014 under the leadership of MS Dhoni (95-run win). The match was also Virat Kohli’s second Test win in England as a captain. The only other Indian captain to lead his team to 2 wins at England is Kapil Dev.
Here are our Top performers from the match:
KL Rahul 129
KL Rahul was adjudged the Player of the Match for his sensational knock of 129 in the 1st innings which put him on the Lord’s Honours Board.
England won the toss and put India to bat in tricky cloudy conditions at Lord’s. Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul put on a very important partnership of 126 runs for the first wicket. This was the first time since 2010 that an Indian opening pair put on a century partnership. The last time India did it was in Centurion (South Africa) when Gambhir and Sehwag put on a 137-run stand in December 2010.
Rahul weathered the storm as Rohit Sharma took the steering seat. After Rohit’s dismissal, Rahul took charge and accelerated the innings. He scored 129 in 250 balls with the help of 12 fours and 1 six.
Rahul departed when India were at the score of 278 runs (4th wicket). Team India were skittled out for 364 runs – 86 runs after his dismissal.
Rohit Sharma 83 & 21
Rohit Sharma dominated the proceedings in the opening partnership with KL Rahul. He scored 83 runs out of the 126-run stand. Rohit’s dominance put England on the back foot as he got a solid assistance from KL at the other end.
Rohit scored 83 runs in 145 balls with the help of 11 fours and 1 six before being bowled out by a brilliant delivery by James Anderson who picked his 8th 5 wicket haul at Lord’s.
Sharma also started the 2nd innings on a positive note but was dismissed right after hitting a six off Mark Wood. Once again it was the pull shot which turned out to be both his super power and kryptonite. He scored 21 runs in the second innings in 36 balls with the help of 2 fours and 1 six.
Ajinkya Rahane 61
By Day 4, the talk was all about if Ajinkya Rahane and Cheteshwar Pujara deserve another chance for Team India. The stage was set for the duo as India were struggling at 55-3 with the departure of Indian captain Virat Kohli for 20 runs.
Pujara and Rahane put on a 100-run stand – withstanding the entire post lunch session to keep India’s chances alive in the Test. Rahane put on a patient 61 in 146 balls with the help of 5 fours while Pujara scored 45 runs in 206 balls at a strike rate of 21.84.
The duo survived the tough phase and showed experience does matter!
Mohammed Siraj 4-94 & 4-32
The spirited Mohammed Siraj put on a brilliant show at Lord’s with the ball. He missed out on the honours board by just 1 wicket in the first innings as he removed Dom Sibley (11), Haseeb Hameed (0) in 2 consecutive deliveries followed by the wickets of Jonny Bairstow (57) and Ollie Robinson (6). He delivered bowling figures of 30-7-94-4 in the first innings.
Siraj’s effort was even more crucial in the second innings as Team India had just 60 overs to bundle out the English batting attack. Siraj returned bowling figures of 10.5-3-32-4 which bowled out England to a score of 120 in 51.5 overs helping India to a massive win at Lord’s.
Siraj picked the wickets of Jos Buttler, Moeen Ali, Sam Curan and James Anderson in the second innings. The wicket of Anderson secured India a 151-run win.
Mohammed Shami 56* and 2-95 & 1-13
Team India were leading by 167 runs with just 3 wickets in hand when Mohammed Shami walked in to bat in the second innings. He combined with Jasprit Bumrah to put on a unbeaten stand of 89 runs which tormented the English bowling attack.
Shami registered his second half century against England as he smacked a unbeaten 56 in 70 balls with the help of 6 fours and 1 six. Shami picked the wicket of Dom Sibley soon after as England were under massive pressure at 1-2 in the second innings.
Jasprit Bumrah 34* & 3-33
After going wicketless and have conceded 13 no-balls in the first innings – Bumrah’s performance came under the scanner, but the right arm pacer turned the tide in the second innings.
He walked in to bat when Team India were struggling at 209-8 with a lead of 182 runs. India’s chances of posing a commanding target seemed bleak but he combined with Shami to help India to 298-8 before the declaration was announced.
Bumrah scored an unbeaten 34 in 64 balls with the help of 3 fours. His short pitch attack against James Anderson in the first innings prompted the English pacers to bowl similar line & length instead of bowling straight and outside off to skittle India out in the second innings.
After putting on a crucial 89 run stand with Shami which was India’s highest ever 9th wicket stand in England – Bumrah got the wickets of Rory Burns, Joe Root and Ollie Robinson in the second innings. He returned bowling figures of 15-3-33-3 which spelled doom to England.
Ishant Sharma 3-69 & 2-13
Team India brought in Ishant Sharma for the Lord’s Test after the experienced pacer was adjudged fully fit to play.
Ishant picked 3 wickets in the first innings in the form of Jos Buttler, Moeen Ali and Sam Curran while he removed Haseeb Hameed and Jonnny Bairstow at the stroke of Tea Break in the second innings which proved to be a massive psychological edge for Team India walking in to the final session of play.
Ishant Sharma’s bowling figures in the Test: 24-4-69-3 & 10-3-13-2
England v India – Match Summary
India 1st innings: 364 all out
Rohit Sharma 83
KL Rahul 129
Virat Kohli 42
Ravindra Jadeja 40
James Anderson 5-62
England 1st innings: 391 all out
Rory Burns 49
Joe Root 180
Jonny Bairstow 57
Mohammed Siraj 4-94
Ishant Sharma 3-69
India 2nd innings: 298-8 declared
Cheteshwar Pujara 45
Ajinkya Rahane 61
Mohammed Shami 56*
Jasprit Bumrah 34*
Mark Wood 3-51
Ollie Robinson 2-45
England 2nd innings: 120 all out
Joe Root 33
Jos Buttler 25
Mohammed Siraj 4-32
Jasprit Bumrah 3-33
Ishant Sharma 2-13
Result: India won by 151 runs
Player of the Match: KL Rahul
Venue: Lord’s Cricket Ground
Toss: England won and elect to bowl
My dream team will feature Marcus Trescothick and Anil Kumble
