It was anti-climax at the end but
then would there have been a better way for it to end? Jadeja bowls to
Anderson, who is desperate to get to the other end, takes off for a single that
didn’t exist. Jadeja fields and hits the wicket directly while Anderson is
still short of the crease. India win! Their first test victory at Lord’s in 28
years. Something that nobody, at least from India, envisaged when they saw the
pitch when the test match was to start.
The test match started on the wrong
foot with allegations and counter-allegations between the two teams on the spat
between Anderson & Jadeja with the latter accusing the former of physically
attacking him during the first test. To add on fuel to the fire, the wicket
that was prepared for the match was as green as it could be. It was hard to
distinguish the ground and the pitch. It got worse for India at the toss with
Dhoni losing it and being asked to bat on this wicket.
Cook seems to have stuck gold by
sending India to back with 6 wickets down for hardly 125 on the board. It
seemed bad when Binny walked back with the score at still less than 150. That
is when things started to turn around for India just like in the 1st
Test with the lower order taking the fight to the opposition. The last 3
wickets added another 150 runs before they were all out. One batsman who stood
out and held together the innings for India was Rahane and rightfully deserved
to have his name on the honors board in the Lord’s board for a fantastic
century. The bowlers backed up the batsmen well with Bhuvaneshwar Kumar
standing out again with his second 5-for in as many tests. He bowled
beautifully in perfect English conditions and made the ball talk. He pitched the
ball up. He made the ball move away from the right hander and into the left
hander. The batsmen were finding it difficult to handle it all. India were able
to restrict England’s lead to only 24 runs. England themselves were able to get
over 300 thanks largely to a well crafted century by Ballance and late attack
by Plunkett.
The Indian openers started the 2nd
innings well and had the deficit erased before Dhawan lost his wicket cheaply
(how many times has he done this in the recent past!). Pujara and Vijay
steadied the ship and took the lead to nearly 100 runs before a lapse of
concentration cost India Pujara’s wicket which caused a mini-collapse with
India losing 3 wickets for 5 runs. More than ever, India needed its captain and
monk to stay in the middle for a long time and take it to safety. They did that
to some extent by taking India’s lead to over 175 before Dhoni fell and Binny
too soon after. Just when Vijay seemed to be headed to his 2nd
century in 2 tests for India, he lost his wicket and India were reeling at 235
with the lead a little over 210. In came Bhuvi and along with Jadeja, turned
the game on its head. Their partnership of 99 runs (with both making fifties)
not only ensured that the lead was over 300 but also ensured that the bowlers
had a lot of time to bowl England out. India were all out for 342 and a lead of
318.
England were set a target of 319
runs on a declining Lord’s wicket. The average 4th innings score at
Lord’s was 157. For England to win this one, they had to score more than double
the average 4th innings score. With their batting wobbling and India’s
bowling doing better, it was a foregone conclusion that India were going to
win. The question was when and how? As expected, Jadeja got India the first
breakthrough with hardly 12 runs on the board for England. Cook and Ballance
resisted for a while before the latter was caught behind. Cook continued
doggedly and seemed to be getting back in form when against the run of play, he
was back in the pavilion. England were reeling at 72 for 4. It all seemed a
formality now for India when day 4 ended.
People were betting that India
will close them out before lunch on day 5. But the pair in the middle had a completely
different idea. They decided to make India earn this win. They defended the
good balls, punished the bad balls. Kept the scoreboard ticking. The number of
runs required for a win was less than 150 runs. Indians were beginning to
worry. Will this be the turnaround that England was waiting for? Is the Indian
team lacking the killer instinct to lose from a winning situation, yet again?
The last over before lunch when it looked like it was completely England’s
session, Ishant Sharma bowled a bouncer from nowhere and Moeen Ali was caught.
All the hard work from Ali and Root meant for nothing. The Indians were back. Neither
team took the session ended in a draw as the wicket fell at the stroke of
lunch. That was the breakthrough that India needed. It was all over an hour
after lunch with Ishant taking a seven for. When the last wicket fell, the
Indians were all over the place. Nobody expected this team to draw a match,
forget winning one. But this young team beat all odds to win and take the lead
in this series. With 3 more games to go, I wonder what further twists and turns
await us. Test matches are better story tellers than anyone else. Wouldn’t you
agree?
