New Delhi [India], July 16 (ANI): Following India’s loss to England at Lord’s in the third Test of the five-match series, former cricketer head coach Ravi Shastri highlighted the moments which stood out in team’s defeat on the fifth day of the encounter.
The third Test at Lord’s was a fiercely contested battle between England and India, with little separating the two sides for most of the match. But in the end, it was the hosts that edged ahead to seal a hard-fought victory.
England’s bowlers, led by Jofra Archer and Ben Stokes, triggered a dramatic collapse in the final session of Day 4 and the opening session of Day 5 to bowl India out for 170 in pursuit of 193, despite a valiant fightback from ICC No.1 ranked Test all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja.
In a gripping Test that swung back and forth, Shastri pointed to the key moments that tilted the balance in England’s favour, just when India seemed to have had the upper hand.
“The turning point for me in this Test match was, first of all, Rishabh Pant’s dismissal [in the first innings]. Ben Stokes, simply outstanding presence of mind to hit at the right end and pull it off on the stroke of lunch. Because India would have got a lead and they were in the driver’s seat,” Ravi Shastri told Sanjana Ganesan, speaking on the latest edition of The ICC Review.
India vice-captain Pant was cruising on 74 before stunning fielding from Stokes sent the southpaw back to the dressing room on the brink of lunch on Day 3.
“Having said that, again at 40/1 [in the second innings], I thought that was a huge lapse in concentration from Karun Nair to leave a straight ball, a nothing ball, to leave it and open the door for England. I thought that the timing of that dismissal turned things around,” said Shastri.
“You saw when Siraj batted, when Bumrah batted, when Jadeja was batting, once the ball was 40 overs old, they hardly put a foot wrong. They were solid in defence and to bring that target down at lunch, 82 to get, you thought in the next 10 minutes it would be done and dusted. But to bring that 82 or 83 to 22 was a massive achievement. So it just goes to show that [if] the top order had just been a little tougher and mentally stronger on Day 4, towards the end, this game would have been India’s,” the 63-year-old added.
Shastri believes that while India were on top at stages of the match, England were due credit for grabbing their opportunities when it mattered.
“You have to compliment England. When the going got tough, those moments they seized. And when they saw an opening in the door, they just banged their door down. There was hardly anything in that surface, and if you had lost two wickets less the previous day I think India would have chased that down,” he said.
The Lord’s Test was a classic, with both sides posting identical first-innings scores of 387 before Washington Sundar’s four-wicket heroics with the ball on Day 4 bundled out England for 192.
Shastri drew comparisons to India’s thrilling win the last time at the same venue in 2021, when he was the head coach at the time.
“It reminded me so much of the Test match in 2021. Only on that occasion, it was India who batted first. Scorelines were very similar, 300, 300 and then a collapse in the second innings. At that time, India won. This time it was England,” he said.
“But a fascinating series and two more to go. Anything can happen. India can bounce back straight away, and if that happens, the Oval [final Test] will be a thriller. Fifteen days in the series, it’s been riveting stuff. And at times, I think India could have been 3-0 up. A little bit of luck, India could have been 3-0 up,” the cricketer-turned-commentator added.
Stokes and England continued their special love affair with 14 July and Lord’s, the scene of their unforgettable 2019 World Cup win.
The England skipper bowled 24 overs in England’s final innings with the ball, delivering two breathtaking spells on either side of lunch on the final day.
Shastri gushed in praise of the England skipper for his relentless work ethic that fetched him three big wickets.
“Stokes bowling those spells, I knew something was coming at Edgbaston because he had something back there. He wanted fuel in the tank for Lord’s and he showed it on the last day. Eight overs, nine-over spells. At one stage, 10 overs towards the end to clinch it for England,” Shastri noted.
Both teams will next head to Manchester for the fourth clash in the five-match ICC World Test Championship series, with England leading 2-1. (ANI)
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