Sharma Man of The Match with 7/74
India registered a historic 95-run win over England on the fifth and final day of the second cricket Test at Lord’s. Resuming the second session at 173/5, England were bowled out for 223 while chasing a target of 319 runs.
Pacer Ishant Sharma was the pick of the Indian bowlers with career best figures of 7/74. With the win, the visitors have taken a 1-0 lead in the five-match series.
This is India’s second win at the ‘home of cricket’ since a Kapil Dev-led team won here back in 1986.
Ishant became the third Indian in the match to have his name etched in the honours list besides Ajinkya Rahane and fellow pacer Bhuvneshwar Kumar.
The English batsmen succumbed to the short-ball from Ishant Sharma in quick succession on the last day of the second Test without offering much resistance. After claiming two wickets on the fourth day, Ishant set the ball rolling with the wicket of Moeen Ali at the stroke of Lunch and picked four more in the second session.
Ishant had reduced England from 173/4 to 201/8 to tip the scales back in India’s favour after Joe Root and Ali had kept the visitors at bay until the last ball of the morning session.
Earlier chasing the competitive score, Root held the innings together with a serene batting performance, while Ali ground it out in the middle to keep the hosts in fray after resuming on the overnight score of 105/4. However, their determined effort ended with the latter falling on the last ball before Lunch. Having battled it out to score 39, he gloved a snorter from Ishant to Cheteshwar Pujara at short-leg to leave the team on 173/5.
England had begun on a confident note with both Root and Ali playing out the Indian bowlers patiently. Ishant Sharma in particular looked threatening, beating the batsmen more often than not, even as a few edges failed to carry. Ravindra Jadeja tried to make optimum use of the “rough” marks and gave a few scares to the batting duo.
The Root-Ali pair patiently played themselves in and revived the hosts innings. Root welcomed Ishant in his second spell with three well timed boundaries to get to a vital half-century. MS Dhoni juggled his bowlers in search of a wicket, but that was not to be as they stitched together a 101-run partnership until Ishant Sharma sprung up a surprise out of nowhere to send Ali back to the pavilion.
England’s hopes rested on Root and Matt Prior with the tail to follow. But post-Lunch, India closed in on victory with Ishant claiming three in two overs. Prior swinging at a short ball from Ishant handed a catch to Murali Vijay at deep mid-wicket.
In the bowler’s next over he accounted for Ben Stokes and Root. Ishant banged in another short ball and while looking to pull, Stokes didn’t get enough bat on it and ended up giving a catch Pujara in the mid-wicket region.
Root, who had until then been patience personified was the next to depart pulling another short one from the tall pacer. Caught by Stuart Binny at deep square-leg, Root’s resistance ended for 66.
15 runs later, Broad nicked another short delivery going down the leg side to Dhoni. Anderson was the last wicket to fall. Scampering back to his crease after a ‘yes’ ‘no’ with Liam Plunkett, he was run out.
Brief scores:
Day 1: Ind 1st inn 290/9 in 90 overs (A Rahane 103, B Kumar 36, J Anderson 4/55, S Broad 2/79)
Day 2: Ind 1st inn 295 all out in 91.4 overs (M Shami 19, B Stokes 2/40); Eng 1st inn 219 in 86 overs (G Balance 110, B Kumar 4/46)
Day 3: Eng 1st inn 319 all out in 105.5 overs (L Plunkett 55*, B Kumar 6/82); Ind 2nd inn 169/4 in 63 overs (M Vijay 59*, MS Dhoni 12*, L Plunkett 2/23)
Day 4: Ind 2nd inn 342 all out in 301.1 overs (M Vijay 95, R Jadeja 68, B Kumar 52, B Stokes 3/51); Eng 2nd inn 105/4 in 46 overs (Moeen Ali 15*, J Root 14*, I Sharma 2/13)
Day 5: Eng 2nd inn 223 all out in 88.2 overs (J Root 66, I Sharma 7/74).
Man of the Match: Ishant Sharma for his match-winning 7/74.
