India's pace fire singes England in 2nd Test

India didn’t envision such a finish, England most certainly not! Mohammed Shami and Jasprit Bumrah first scripted a rare miraculous Indian lower-order counter-attack to totally blow apart a bungling England. The Indian seamers, on a fiery day, then dished out a mesmerising show to smother the deflated hosts for a memorable triumph in the second Test on Monday.

India, resuming the final morning at a vulnerable 181/6, looked in deep trouble when they lost their last recognised batsman and danger man Rishabh Pant with just quarter of an hour gone, and Ishant Sharma a brief while later. England, trailing by just 182 runs, were ready for the kill.

Shami (56 n.o., 70b, 6x4, 1x6) and Bumrah (34 n.o., 64b, 3x4), two guys who have swung several matches India’s way with the ball in their hands, did so with the bat on Monday that had the Lord’s gathering eating out of their hands. Soaking up plenty of verbals from a seemingly irked England camp and nasty short-pitched bowling, the duo forged a stunning unbeaten 89-run stand off just 120 balls to give animated skipper Virat Kohli the luxury of declaring the innings at 298/8 nine balls after lunch.

England, who dominated the game from the second morning until the Bumrah-Shami partnership, were the ones feeling the complete heat now in the chill of London. The Indians knew 60 overs was good enough for them to put a wounded England under the sword. And they did so emphatically, packing their rivals off for 120 in 51.5 overs to take a 1-0 lead.

It was not easy for India though as Jos Buttler (25, 96b) and Moeen Ali (13, 42b) delayed the inevitable with a 95-ball stand. Buttler was dropped on 2 by Kohli while Ali survived a caught behind because of a Ravindra Jadeja no-ball. As their partnership kept growing, the tension started to rise.

The Indians, however, kept their cool. They remained disciplined, kept asking tough questions despite the ball getting old. The intensity never dipped for a moment and kept the noose tight around the necks of Ali and Buttler. Ali was the first to crack, a peach from the impressive Mohammed Siraj (4/32) sending him back. That was the opening India needed and they just trampled England post that.

One of the great characteristics of this current Indian side is different heroes emerging when the chips are down. One saw in great measure in the famous 2-1 series win over Australia last December-January. It’s no more reliant on the super stars to get the job done. While the win is a total team effort, Manic Monday belonged to Shami and Bumrah, the two playing knocks of a lifetime to set the win up. Deservingly, they were accorded a rousing reception by their team-mates in the Lord’s Long Room when they walked back unseparated at lunch.

England, seeking payback against Bumrah after the India pacer handed some short-ball treatment to James Anderson in the first innings, doled out the same to the Gujarat player. Not only that, they even sent down several verbal barrages that saw the umpire Richard Illingworth intervene to cool the frayed tempers. Even Shami was not spared in the heated tussle.

Bumrah copped a few blows to his helmet. Shami was hit on the body. But the tenacious duo were up for the battle. They gave it back as good as they got. Whenever the short ball was followed up with the full length one, they spanked it though the covers, shots that had the Indian batsmen in the balcony grinning ear to ear. Bumrah even unleashed two straight-drives that rattled the non-striker’s stumps.

England, however, have only themselves to blame for letting slip a game that was entirely in their control. Instead of sticking to the basics, they allowed their ego to get the better of themselves. They needlessly let their mouth do the talking when the ball should have against two ordinary low-order batsmen. That only pumped the Indians up who turned the tables in style.