The fifth day of the second Test must surely go down one of the most intense in the 207-year history of Lord’s, England arriving with thoughts of victory only to suffer a harrowing, heavy defeat to this remarkable India side.
Over the course of three sessions a maelstrom unfolded for the 25,800 spectators present. The two sets of players snarled and swore at each other throughout and it wasn’t until 6.35pm, when Mohammed Siraj sealed the 151-run win with the detonation of Jimmy Anderson’s off stump, that a semblance of peace broke out.
England were just 49 balls from the safety of a draw but there was a gulf between the teams on the day. Joe Root’s men had been set an improbable 272 to win in 60 overs courtesy of a maddening unbroken ninth-wicket stand of 89 from Mohammed Shami (56) and Jasprit Bumrah (34), before crumbling to 120 all out in response.
Bumrah was instrumental in securing India’s 1-0 lead, the bullwhip fast bowler’s earlier mischief with the bat followed by figures of three for 33 that included the pivotal removal of Root after tea for a top score of 33. Siraj tore through the lower middle order to claim four for 32, while Ishant Sharma’s two afternoon strikes were vital.
But as much as India’s seamers refused to relent, and KL Rahul was player of the match for his first innings 129, this third Test victory at Lord’s was carved in the image of their combative captain, Virat Kohli. For England it represented a first Test defeat to feature one of Root’s 22 centuries, with the smiles that followed his unbeaten 180 on day three replaced by a stony-faced admission that tactically he came up short.
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This transpired during a morning that defied all predictions and saw India declare on 298 for eight after lunch. It was said the destiny of the match would hinge on Rishabh Pant’s wicket and when Ollie Robinson had him caught behind for 22, and trapped Ishant lbw for 16, India sat 209 for eight. The lead was 182 and England were two cheap tail-end wickets away from a target even they wouldn’t decline.
Yet come lunch Shami and Bumrah were walking back through the Long Room like war heroes, the pair having not just shown courage under fire but returned it with interest to bat their hosts out of the contest. England had foolishly been suckered into seeking retribution for Bumrah roughing up Anderson on the third evening and the upshot of this alpha power play was 105 runs leaked in the session.
There was a clear plan to get in Bumrah’s face upon arrival and the verbals began to fly. Jos Buttler was in the thick of it and even Kohli, 80 yards away on the balcony, chimed in. This aggression came with a bouncer plan to be enacted by Mark Wood but with Root bizarrely spreading the field as if Pant were in his sights, singles opened up and two statistical rabbits got away from the England captain like he was Mr McGregor.
Bumrah wore two blows to the helmet but it was Root’s head that was spinning, the England captain seemingly distracted by their impish defiance when he dropped Bumrah at slip on 22 off Moeen Ali. Had it stuck India would have been 257 for nine – 230 ahead and perhaps already out of sight – but instead Shami closed off the morning by carving the off-spinner for a four and a six to bring up his second Test half-century.
Kohli stalled the declaration until after the break – eating up four seemingly precious overs – and then cashed in on the adrenaline coursing through the veins of Bumrah and Shami. In the space of 10 sizzling deliveries the pair had vaporised England’s openers for ducks – a first in 531 Tests on home soil – and India were positively flying.
This was a fifth duck this year for Rory Burns when he was squared up by Bumrah and plopped a leading edge to the ever-chirping Siraj at short cover. Dom Sibley didn’t even wait for the umpire’s finger, Shami having tickled the edge of his bat with a beauty to prompt Root’s latest firefighting emergence at one for two.
In between Haseeb Hameed dodged a king pair but the 24-year-old couldn’t cash in on a drop at slip on four. Instead he became the first of two lbw victims for the old warhorse, Ishant, whose removal of Jonny Bairstow left England 67 for four at tea. Not for the first time in 2021 it felt like Root or bust for England, hence Kohli’s eruption when catching his opposite number at slip off the third ball after the break. And though Moeen dutifully resisted for an hour, even surviving a caught behind off a Ravindra Jadeja no-ball, his demise to Siraj followed by Sam Curran’s second first-baller.
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Robinson survived the hat-trick ball and over the course of the next hour the No 9 and Buttler repelled India’s bowlers and the incessant chatter in their ears. But as the shadows lengthened and thoughts of a famous rearguard action began to rise, Bumrah returned to pin Robinson lbw with a masterful off-cutter from around the wicket.
It was then over to Siraj to seal the win, a weary Buttler wafting behind for 25 after 90 minutes of concentration finally broke. Out came Anderson, his off-stump pinged third ball to trigger raucous celebrations that will haunt England before the third Test at Headingley that starts a week on Wednesday, and possibly beyond.