New Delhi, July 16 (IANS) Former India coach Ravi Shastri discussed the moments that stood out in India’s narrow defeat on Day 5 of the third Test at Lord’s, pointing out Rishab Pant’s dismissal in the first innings and Karun Nair’s wicket in the second as the key moments that tilted the balance in England’s favour, just when India seemed to have had the upper hand.
England’s bowlers, led by Jofra Archer and Ben Stokes, triggered a dramatic collapse in the final session of Day 4 and the opening session of Day 5 to bowl India out for 170 in pursuit of 193, despite a valiant fightback from ICC No.1 ranked Test all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja.
“The turning point for me in this Test match was, first of all, Rishabh Pant’s dismissal (in the first innings),” Ravi Shastri said on the latest edition of The ICC Review.
India vice-captain Pant was cruising on 74 when he defended to the off-side off Shoaib Bashir and England skipper Ben Stokes, stationed at cover point, picked the ball and threw it towards the non-striker’s end – all in one motion. That direct hit did catch Pant short of his crease, leading to him being dismissed for 74.
“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 said.
“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,” added 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,” he further said.
Shastri believes that while India were on top at stages of the match, England were due credit for grabbing their opportunities when it mattered.
“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.
Shastri drew comparisons to India’s thrilling win the last time at the same venue in 2021, when he was the head coach at the time. “It reminded me so much of the Test match in 2021,” he said. “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.”
“But a fascinating series and two more to go. Anything can happen. India can bounce back straight away 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, India could have been 3-0 up,” said Shastri.
The teams now head to Manchester for the fourth clash in the five-match ICC World Test Championship series, with England leading 2-1.
–IANS
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