Former India head coach Ravi Shastri pointed out the key moments that turned the tide in England’s favour during the thrilling third Test at Lord’s, which the hosts won by 22 runs to take a 2-1 lead in the five-match series.
Photo: IANS
Former India head coach Ravi Shastri pointed out the key moments that turned the tide in England’s favour during the thrilling third Test at Lord’s, which the hosts won by 22 runs to take a 2-1 lead in the five-match series.
In what was a fiercely-contested match, England’s bowlers, led by Jofra Archer and Ben Stokes, triggered a dramatic collapse across the final two days, dismissing India for 170 while defending 193. Despite a fighting, unbeaten 61 from World No.1 all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja, India fell just short.
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Reflecting on the crucial phases that England managed to seize and eventually take control over the proceedings, Shastri pointed to Rishabh Pant’s run-out on Day 3 as the first major turning point.
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“The turning point for me in this Test match was, first of all, Rishabh Pant’s dismissal [in the first innings],” Shastri said in the ICC Review.
“Ben Stokes, simply outstanding presence of mind to hit at the right end and pull it off on the stroke of lunch. Because India would have got a lead and they were in the driver’s seat,” he added.
India vice-captain Pant was cruising on 74 before Stokes’ on-field excellence cut short sharp his innings just before the lunch break on Day 3. Another moment that stood out for Shastri was Karun Nair’s lapse in the second innings.
“Having said that, again at 40/1 [in the second innings], I thought that was a huge lapse in concentration from Karun Nair to leave a straight ball, a nothing ball, to leave it and open the door for England. I thought that the timing of that dismissal turned things around,” said Shastri.
“Because you saw when Siraj batted, when Bumrah batted, when Jadeja was batting, once the ball was 40 overs old, they hardly put a foot wrong. They were solid in defence, and to bring that target down at lunch, 82 to get, you thought in the next 10 minutes it would be done and dusted. But to bring that 82 or 83 to 22 was a massive achievement.
“So it just goes to show that [if] the top order had just been a little tougher and mentally stronger on Day 4, towards the end, this game would have been India’s,” the former India all-rounder said.
Shastri also gave full credit to England for grabbing their chances with both hands, despite India being on top at various stages of the match.
“You have to compliment England. When the going got tough, those moments they seized. And when they saw an opening in the door, they just banged their door down. There was hardly anything in that surface, and if you had lost two wickets less the previous day I think India would have chased that down,” he said.
The Lord’s Test was a classic, with both sides posting identical first-innings scores of 387 before Washington Sundar’s four-wicket heroics with the ball on Day 4 bundled out England for 192.
The match bore similarities to the 2021 Lord’s Test, according to Shastri, when he was still India’s head coach.
“It reminded me so much of the Test match in 2021. Only on that occasion, it was India who batted first. Scorelines were very similar: 300, 300 and then a collapse in the second innings. At that time, India won. This time it was England.”
Shastri, however, remains optimistic of Shubman Gill’s side bouncing back in Manchester before heading to The Oval for the final Test.
“But a fascinating series and two more to go. Anything can happen. India can bounce back straightaway, and if that happens, The Oval [final Test] will be a thriller.
“Fifteen days in the series, it’s been riveting stuff. And at times, I think India could have been 3-0 up. A little bit of luck, and India could have been 3-0 up,” he observed.
He reserved special praise for Ben Stokes, whose lionhearted spells on the final day turned the match in England’s favour once again at a venue and date steeped in personal and team history. On the same day six years back, England won their maiden ODI World Cup in 2019 at Lord’s.
“Stokes bowling those spells, I knew something was coming at Edgbaston because he had something back there. He wanted fuel in the tank for the Lord’s and he showed it on the last day. Eight overs, nine-over spells. At one stage, 10 overs towards the end to clinch it for England,” said Shastri.
The teams now head to Manchester for the fourth Test, starting July 23.
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