India register their third-ever Test victory at Lord's: Records broken
India pulled off a historic victory against England in the second Test of five-match series at Lord's. The Virat Kohli-led side successfully defended 271 runs on the final day. A game-changing partnership between Mohammed Shami and Jasprit Bumrah helped India gain the edge. Hostile spells from Indian fast bowlers did the rest. Notably, India have registered their third-ever Test win at Lord's.
How did the match pan out?
India racked up 364 after being put in to bat by England. KL Rahul starred with an astonishing century (129). England, powered by skipper Joe Root's magnificent ton (180*), gained a slender lead by putting up 391. India were reduced to 209/8 in the second innings before the Shami-Bumrah stand resurrected them. The hosts eventually failed to chase down 272.
A record partnership between Shami and Bumrah
India were tottering on 181/6 on Day 4 after England got rid of Ajinkya Rahane and Cheteshwar Pujara. Rishabh Pant too departed soon on the final day. However, Bumrah (34*) and Shami (56*) weathered the storm thereafter. The duo stitched an 89*-run stand before India declared. This is India's highest ninth-wicket partnership involving number nine and 10 batsmen in a Test outside India.
Feats attained by Mohammed Shami
Shami went all-out against the English bowlers after surviving the initial heat. He slammed his second half-century in Test cricket. His maiden Test fifty also came in England in 2014. This is the first Test fifty by an Indian player (number nine or lower) in SENA countries since 2014. Shami scored 56* (70), his career-best score in Test cricket.
Third Indian captain to win a Test at Lord's
Virat Kohli has become the third Indian captain to win a Test match at Lord's. Before this, India last won here in 2014, under MS Dhoni. Ishant Sharma took a seven-for as India won by 95 runs. This time as well, Ishant was lethal in the second innings. India had registered their first-ever Test win at Lord's in 1986 (under Kapil Dev).
Another forgettable outing for the English openers
England haven't been able to find an ideal opening combination in red-ball cricket of late. After failing in the first innings, Rory Burns and Dominic Sibley registered a duck each in the run-chase. Burns and Sibley survived four balls each. This is the first time both English openers have been dismissed for a duck in a Test innings at home.
Root attains several feats with 22nd Test hundred
English skipper Root smashed his 22nd Test hundred in the first innings. This was the second consecutive Test ton for Root in the five-match series. In the process, Root became only the second batsman from England to complete 9,000 runs in the format. Root has taken the fewest days to achieve this historic feat (3,167). He became the second-youngest cricketer to reach this feat.
Other milestones achieved by Root
During the innings, Root equaled Cook's record of most international hundreds for England (38). The former now has the most Test hundreds in a calendar year by an England captain (5). He is only behind Cook (33) and Kevin Pietersen (23) in terms of Test tons. Root is presently the only batsman to score 1,000 or more runs in Test cricket in 2021.
KL Rahul gets his name on Lord's honors board
KL Rahul slammed his sixth Test century in the match. He became only the 10th Indian to smash a hundred at Lord's. Rahul also became the fifth Indian opener with more than one hundred in England. He now has the joint-second-most hundreds (4) by an Indian opener outside Asia in Test cricket, along with Virender Sehwag. Sunil Gavaskar tops the list with 15 tons.
Indian openers were on the charge in the first innings
In the first innings, Rahul and Rohit shared a 126-run stand. This was the first century stand by Indian openers outside Asia in Tests since the start of 2011. The last Indian pair to do so was Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir (137 at Centurion, 2010). Rahul and Rohit also became the first visiting pair with a century stand in England since August 2016.
Oldest pacer with Test five-for in last 70 years
James Anderson was the pick of England's bowlers in the first innings, having registered his 31st five-wicket haul in Test cricket. At 39 years 14 days, Anderson is the oldest pacer with a five-for in Tests in the last 70 years since SA's Geoff Chubb.
Other records that were broken in the match
Rahul is the second Indian opener to slam a ton on Day 1 of a Test outside Asia after the opposition invited India to bat. Navjot Singh Sidhu is the only other Indian opener to do so (116 v WI at Kingston, 1989). Moeen Ali became the seventh English spinner to take 100 wickets at home. He has the best strike-rate among all.
Sam Curran records a rare king pair
English all-rounder Sam Curran departed for a golden duck in both the innings (king pair). He became only the fifth player after Gary Troup, Adam Gilchrist, Javed Omar, and James Anderson to register a king pair against India.
