ENG vs IND | Lord’s Test: Talking points ft. superman Stokes to reliable Root

‌As the caravan moved to the Mecca of Cricket after two high-scoring games, the cricket fan hoped for some balance between bat and ball, with some riveting action over the five days. The third Test between England and India at Lord’s provided exactly that, ending up as a perfect advertisement for the longer format of the game. There was hardly anything to separate the teams, with the match going to the wire on the final day as the hosts edged out India by 22 runs in a thrilling climax on Monday.

With batters and bowlers getting enough support from the surface, the Lord’s Test ended as one of the best matches played in the recent past. Here is a look at some of the talking points of the game.

Superman Stokes

In a match played in uncharacteristically hot conditions, England captain Ben Stokes stood out for his performances and exceptional work rate. The all-rounder played 206 balls in the match for his tally of 77 runs over two innings before leading the way with the ball too. The pacer sent down 20 overs in the first innings to pick up two wickets and returned with another marathon spell in the second.

With 24 overs, the most by an England player in the second innings of the match, Stokes picked up three more wickets to subject India to a narrow loss on the final day. The all-rounder bowled nine consecutive overs in the first session of the day before bowling another 10 on the trot in the second, dismissing KL Rahul and Jasprit Bumrah at crucial junctures.

He showcased his value on the field too, when he ran out in-form batter Rishabh Pant at the stroke of lunch on the third day to tilt the game heavily in the hosts’ favour. Unsurprisingly, the England skipper won the Player of the Match for his all-round performance.

Reliable Root

With the pitch not exactly supporting England’s slambang Bazball approach, the batters had to show patience and application to extend their stay at the crease. Joe Root played a gritty and patient knock to help England put a competitive total in the first innings. He built game-changing partnerships with Ollie Pope and Ben Stokes en route to his 37th century in Test cricket.

In the second innings also, he top-scored for England with a 96-ball 40 to stand tall amid a batting collapse. Root helped England find a way to win the match despite not playing their usual aggressive style of cricket. In fact, the home side’s 251/4 on the first day at Lord’s is the lowest single-day total posted by them, without getting all out, in the Bazball era. Still, the veteran batter did not panic as he used all his experience to bail England out of a tricky situation.

Lords of Lord’s

Indian pacer Jasprit Bumrah made a stunning return to the side after being rested for the previous game, recording his first five-wicket haul at Lord’s. Bumrah etched his name on the honours board at the iconic venue and picked up two more wickets in the second innings to end with a match haul of 7/112.

Opener KL Rahul became only the second Indian batter, after Dilip Vengsarkar, to score multiple Test centuries at Lord’s when his patient century helped India match England’s total in the first innings. Rahul was equally impressive off the frontfoot and backfoot during his assured knock, reinforcing his position as one of the best Indian openers in Tests in SENA (South Africa, England, New Zealand, Australia) countries.

Ravindra Jadeja was another standout player for the visitors, scoring two fifties in the match, with his gritty and unbeaten knock in the second innings taking India to the doorstep of another historic win. But he ran out of partners and painfully watched the match slip out of India’s hands from the non-striker’s end.

Jadeja and Washington in the same XI?

With Washington Sundar (4/22) also having a good outing with the ball during the second innings at Lord’s, India will be keen to play him along with Jadeja in the upcoming Tests. The number one all-rounder in Tests, with his recent form, has proved that he can be in the side as a specialist batter as well. The southpaw, who has scored four consecutive fifties in the last two matches, has accumulated 969 runs at a decent average of 38.76 in Test matches in England.

Will cricket give Karun Nair another chance?

Karun Nair, making a return to the Indian side in eight years, would be disappointed not to convert the starts he got in the three Tests against England. He got scores of 20 or more in four of the six innings he batted but could manage a highest score of 40 only. After playing at number six in the first Test, he was promoted to three in the next two games but failed to make an impact in both matches.

It will be interesting to see whether Gautam Gambhir and Shubman Gill persist with Karun or look towards Sai Sudharsan or Dhruv Jurel in the last two Test matches as India look to bounce back from a morale-sapping loss.