There is something about July 14 at Lord's that wakes up beasts in Ben Stokes and Jofra Archer. A nerve-wracking thriller at the Home of Cricket. England are leading 2-1 with a nail-biting 22-run at the Lord's Cricket Ground, breaking the hearts of India. Spare a thought for Ravindra Jadeja. What a warrior this man is from Saurashtra. Tried so hard but nothing to show for it. Siraj weathered the storm, but luck wasn't in his favour. Bashir, who wasn't even on the field for most of the first and second bowling innings due to a finger injury, had a role to play in the end. This is what Test match cricket is all about.
An all-time classic at the Lord's has come to an end. Another heartbreak for India. There was nothing separating the two teams in the first innings. India were slightly ahead after bowling out England for 193. The hosts stormed back into the contest and kept chipping away, pushing the visitors to the wall. Hundreds from Root and Rahul, but they weren't the ones winning the POTM. It was between Stokes and Jadeja. The latter did his best to get India over the line, but it wasn't to be. Stokes scored 43 and 33 in the first and second innings, respectively. It was that moment in the game before lunch on day 3, when the English captain brought out unreal energy to run Rishabh Pant out with a direct hit that gave England hope. He picked up two wickets in the first innings and 3 wickets in the second innings, with him leading from the front with energy and strategy.
So that is the end of our coverage from the Lord's Test. Another game that went all the way to the final session of the Test. We have had an incredible series so far. England literally unleashed hell in the evening and morning sessions of day 4 and 5, respectively, eventually leading the five-match series 2-1, moving to Manchester for the 4th game, which starts on July 23. India are yet to win a Test at Old Trafford, and will Bumrah play there? We will get to know...
For now, this is me, AkshayaKrishna Polya, signing off on behalf of my co-commentator Pritam Dey, helping buddy Ajay Pal Singh, scorer/analyst Bishal Mandal and statistician Aman. We will be back soon. Until then, it is cheers!
BREAKING NEWSπ¨: A big blow for England as Shoaib Bashir has been ruled out of the remainder of the Test series with a fractured finger.
Most Player of the Match Awards for England in Tests:
13 - Joe Root
12 - Ian Botham
11 - Ben Stokes*
10 - Stuart Broad & Kevin Pietersen
Most Player of the Match Awards at Lordβs in Tests:
4 - Ben Stokes (England)*
3 - Stuart Broad (England), Glenn McGrath (Australia), Joe Root (England)
Ben Stokes (POTM & England Captain): "(On reflecting back to 14th July, 2019) Yeah, it was to be honest. It was actually the part of the reason why I went with Jofra this morning with myself from the other end. I just had one of those feelings in the morning as it was 6 years ago now (England winning the World Cup) as Jofra played a major role in that one. I just had one of those feelings that he will do something special this morning as well, perhaps open up the game with at least two wickets.
There was a bit of a discussion in the dressing room about that one (which bowler bowls from which end). Obviously, Brydon had an amazing spell last night. He was in great rhythm but as I said, I had this gut feeling about Jofra as I felt something will happen today morning. He is playing for the first time since a long time in the Test team and also because of the day. Sometimes the gut feeling works out.
(On Jofra Archer) It was awesome to have him back out there. Every time we near his name gets announced in the stadium, the crowd erupts and he turns it on as well with his speed and lengths. He changes the atmosphere and also the game with crucial wickets. It has been a very, very tough week for him but it was amazing to have him back out there.
(On his own fitness) I thought that I have taken myself to pretty dark places before but today I had to bowl a lot to win a Test match for my country. If that doesn't get you excited then I don't know what does.
Shoaib Bashir, with a broken hand, going out there, taking on the responsibility with the bat. We thought that those few runs could be crucial for us at the end. Also coming on and taking that last wicket was also amazing. He came out like a warrior to win the game for his team.
(On him bowling long spells) To be honest, with some much on the line today, I just wanted to give my everything. Yesterday was something different. I pulled myself off there. Today too I was tired but again as I said, the game was on the line so nothing was stopping me coming off.
(On his batting form) Yeah look, I am an all-rounder. I get four opportunities in a Test match to make an influence in the game. What's amazing as an all-rounder is that, if one role is not going well, you have an opportunity to do well with the other. That's how I look at it. I would've loved to score a bit more runs but I don't like to take too much pressure on my shoulders.
(On that Run Out of Rishabh Pant) Yeah. I was in the middle of my spell there so I was really pumped up. Very important position there at extra cover. I was looking at the ball and then in my peripheral vision I just saw that Rishabh was stutter a little bit. So, it was natural instincts which took over. Whenever you let the ball go off your hand, you think that it's going to hit the stumps. It came off as it was an important wicket for us. We all know how dangerous Rishabh can be. That wicket was a pretty big one.
Definitely. It was always going to be the way. Two very good teams going at it. This game again went toe to toe. Not going to lie, I cannot wait to lying on my bed for four days and then will be rearing to go for Manchester again."