At the end of a riveting fifth day’s play, India came up trumps, with the bowling attack handing the side their third Test win at Lord’s.
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There was plenty to take away from India’s victory, which helped them gain a lead in the series, with three Tests still to go.
KL Rahul is back (and so is India’s opening confusion)
Ahead of the tour, few would have expected KL Rahul to make it to the playing XI, let alone end up with a Test century (in only his second game as opener since 2019). From the tour game to the first Test, and then to the second, Rahul looked in sublime nick, making you almost forget about the now-injured Shubman Gill, and the two other specialist openers, Mayank Agarwal and Prithvi Shaw.
With his Player of the Match performance, Rahul has comfortably sealed his place at the top of the XI, which reopens the debate on India’s current best opening pair. Should Mayank and Shaw get a look-in at some point? What happens when Gill returns? For now, it’s all well and good.
India’s tail – not that bad
Ahead of the Test, there was plenty of discussion around India’s long tail and how they would easily succumb to the quicks, providing little resistance when needed. With no R Ashwin and Shardul Thakur for the Lord’s Test, the bottom half looked increasingly inadequate, especially in comparison to England’s relatively deeper line-up.
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That changed dramatically when Mohammed Shami and Jasprit Bumrah came out all guns blazing, armed with strokes previously unassociated with their batting. It gives India the confidence to feature four frontline quicks knowing that the tail can wag a bit. Furthermore, the fact that they managed to keep England’s tail in check makes their contribution even more vital.
Pace attack proves again that it’s up there with the very best
Only twice in their Test history have Indian quicks picked up all 20 wickets in a game, the second instance being the Nottingham Test of this series. They plucked 19 at Lord’s, another little number that defines the kind of paradigm shift that has taken place in India’s Test outfit, one that has seen drift away from its spin-heavy past. More than the numbers, it was heartening to see how each of the four quicks had their own role to play – the challenge to pick ten wickets inside 60 overs saw them bring out their very best. If the Test is anything to go by, it could be a series defined by India’s four-pronged attack, arguably their best ever.
Like him or not, Kohli’s India knows how to get under the opposition’s skin
“You go after one of our guys, all 11 will come at you” – KL Rahul’s post-match comment perfectly typified the steely intent of the Indian team, ready to fight tooth and nail to earn a win. There was plenty of chatter along the way, words exchanged between the two sides, and a general feeling of hostility, representative of the aura the captain carries and rubs off on the team. From the likes of Kohli himself to the younger ones such as Siraj, the players did not hold back when engaging in a word or two with the opposition, which appeared to elevate their game even more. Their predecessors might have been meek travellers away from home, but this Indian team doesn’t shy away from putting up a combative front.
Rahane, Pujara (slowly) find their groove
That Cheteshwar Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane have been under the pump is evident, but the two managed to recover some of their lost sheen with a gutsy partnership at Lord’s, essaying the tough role that they’re known to bring out more often. The resolute knocks helped diffuse lingering doubts around their immediate place, and also helped both get much-needed runs under their belt (it was Rahane’s first fifty in eight innings, while Pujara crossed 40 in 11 attempts). More importantly, they played a combined 352 deliveries in the second innings, a timely effort that India would need more of through the tour.
