After shining with the bat, bowlers Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Shami were back in the field doing what they do best, giving India a perfect start, dismissing both the openers back for a duck in quick succession. Ishant Sharma soon joined the party, reducing England to 67-4 at tea on the final day of the second Test match between India and England at Lord's.
Team India declared their innings at 298/8, with a 271-run lead, thanks to an 89-run partnership for the ninth wicket between Jasprit Bumrah (34*) and Mohammed Shami (56*), setting England a target of 272 runs, which they have to chase down in 60 overs.
After India lost Rishabh Pant (22) and Ishant Sharma (16) within the first eight overs of the day, Bumrah and Shami, both brought up their career best scores to put India in a comfortable and dominant position.
What will give India hope is that only thrice before a score of 200+ has been chased down at Lord's in the fourth innings. The last time it happened was in 2004.
Ishant Sharma Strikes!
When it looked like things were settling down for England, with captain Joe Root and Haseeb Hameed sharing a 42-run partnership for the third wicket, Ishant Sharma brought India back in the game.
Beaten by Sharma's in-swinger, Hameed was hit just above the knee roll. He straight away went for the review, which revealed the ball was nowhere near the bat and would have gone to hit the leg stump.
Sharma struck again on the last ball before tea. Sharma bowled a similar in-swinging delivery to Jonny Bairstow, which hit him on the back leg. Umpire Gough shook his head, but a confident Kohli asked for the review. The replay once again revealed a considerable gap between the bat and the ball, with Hawk-Eye showing the ball hitting the middle and the leg stump.
Root, at the other end, started running out of partners. India need to take six wickets in 38 overs to win the second Test match.
Bumrah, Shami Give India a Perfect Start!
It was Bumrah who drew first blood when he dismissed opener Rory Burns for a duck on the third ball of the first over of the England innings. Burns was looking to guide the ball to the leg side, but the ball found the edge of the bat and lobbed up to reach Mohammed Siraj's hands at mid-off.
Just an over later, Shami 140kps delivery found the nick of Dom Sibley's bat and sent him back walking.
Once again, the responsibility of the England innings fell on captain Joe Root, the man in form. He started strong with a beautiful cover drive.
Shami almost had his second wicket when Haseeb Hameed went for a length ball way outside off and edged it to the slips. The ball, however, went low to the left of Rohit Sharma, hit him on the wrist before touching the ground. Root, meanwhile, carried on with a pull shot to the deep square leg boundary and soon took his score to 16 with the help of four boundaries.
An Unconventional Start
The duo started their innings scoring runs all over the park with some unconventional batting and delighted the Indian dressing room and fans in the stands.
With every run scored, the two batsmen grew in confidence, and so did captain Virat Kohli, who was cheering them on from the historic Lord's balcony. However, England, who went on the defensive and failed to attack the two tailenders, felt the pressure rising.
However, the two took some to get going.
Things Get Heated Up: Bumrah Gets Into a Scuffle
The England bowlers decided to give Jasprit Bumrah a taste of his own medicine and bowled a barrage of bouncers at him. A smiling Bumrah seemed to be expecting it, having bowled a few short ones at an upset Anderson on Sunday night. Nonetheless, he kept swinging his bat wildly at everything he got.
Bumrah got involved in a heated verbal exchange with Jos Buttler, with skipper Joe Root watching and smiling along from the sides. That altercation, though, got him all fired up, and he hit Wood to the boundary with a wild flash on the very first ball after the argument. Wood answered back with a fiery bouncer, which hit Bumrah on the side of the grill of his helmet. The ball went to the third man, but Bumrah refused to run. However, the play was stopped for a helmet check and a mandatory concussion test.
Shami, Bumrah in the Zone!
By the time the two players brought up 250 on the board for India, they were looking calm, confident and relaxed and even played some classical cover drives and defensive shots.
Twice, Shami chipped the ball to mid-wicket, and twice, the ball flew over Jonny Bairstow to reach deep square leg. Bumrah was lucky to survive as he edged the ball bowled by Moeen Ali to captain Root fielding at the slips. However, the ball just brushed Root's fingertips on its way down.
Shami Targets Mooen Ali, Brings Up Second Fifty
Soon, the duo brought up their 50-run partnership for the ninth wicket. Shami, now comfortable in his 30s, smashed Ali to deep mid-on. By this time, both the batters were looking in the zone, deciding which deliveries to play at and which ones to let go of.
Shami decided to go after Ali, bludgeoning him for a four at cow corner and then brought up his second Test fifty with a monstrous blow for six. By this time, the England fielders' heads and shoulders had stopped low.
Bumrah, Shami Get Standing Ovation
The Indian team gave Shami and Bumrah a well-deserved standing ovation when they walked back to the pavilion at lunch after having put India in a strong position with a 259-run lead.
Pant Disappoints!
With Rishabh Pant at the crease, the fans were expecting some fireworks. Instead, all they got to witness was just one glorious boundary. The left-hander danced down the track and smashed James Anderson to the covers for four as if he were some spinner.
Just four balls later, Pant was walking back to the pavilion after scoring 22. Going for a forward-defensive shot, he nicked the ball to the keeper, adding just eight runs to his overnight score of 14. With that, India lost its last established batsman.
As Mohammed Shami struggled against Mark Woods' pace and bounce, Ishant Sharma hit two boundaries and took his score to 16. He failed to read a slow off-cutter by Ollie Robinson and was given out leg-before wicket. However, with three reviews still left with India, Sharma decided to go for it in an apparent tactical move. Unfortunately, it just delayed the inevitable as the replays showed the ball would have hit the middle stump.
(At The Quint, we question everything. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member today.)