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Bullish Kohli 'super proud' on Lord's triumph, promises more intensity going ahead in series

India did not have too many things going in their favour before the start of the second Test at Lord’s. They did not have the luxury of playing the “template” skipper Virat Kohli had shown high confidence after the first Test and they had to take the toughest possible call of choosing one among Ishant Sharma and Ravichandran Ashwin. Finally, they went in with Ishant albeit it elongated the tail and increased pressure on an out of form middle order to take responsibility. The outside issues were compounded when Joe Root won the toss and asked them to bat first at an overcast Lord’s. The hosts would have hoped to get the better of the Indian batting order on the first day itself and take the game from thereon. However, by the end of the game, all those brittle components of the Indian side were back to functioning to their near-best and trounced England on the final day. Openers KL Rahul and Rohit Sharma batted admirably and provided a masterclass to England top order on the technique and mindset required to bat out tough phase of the game. The pacers toiled hard on the second and third day to not give an inch to the hosts and then the middle comparing of Cheteshwar Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane put their hands up to set up an exciting final day. The game went good to best for the visitors as Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Shami kept England at bay in the first session before coming hard with the ball against their batsmen to earn a spirited win at the Home of Cricket. They were also attacked verbally by the hosts in reply to Bumrah’s bouncer tactics to James Anderson but the Virat Kohli-led side, like always, did not hold back and answered all calls with a bit of word and more of fire with the ball. Looking back on the win, Kohli was “super proud” of his teammates after they worked hard in each department of the game every day to take the side to a famous victory. He specifically commenced the duo of Shami and Bumrah for putting the best of their batting abilities while batting under pressure on the final day. He was not forgetful of the verbal duels with England players and said that those instances eventually fuelled the fire in his teammates to go for a win on the final day. "Super proud of the whole team, the way we stuck to our plans, being put in our performance with the bat was outstanding. Pitch didn't offer much on first three days. But the way we played in the second innings, under pressure, from Jasprit and Shami was outstanding. We thought with 60 overs to go we could have a crack, and they were outstanding. A bit of tension on the field really motivated us to finish the game,” Kohli said to Mel Jones in the post-match presentation ceremony. As Bumrah and Shami walked off the middle at the lunch interval on the final day after putting India in the driving seat of the game, whole squad members and support staff were waiting in the Lord’s long room to welcome them with a resounding reception. Kohli said that the gesture was made to make them realise how special their contribution was to the team’s fortunes and also to fire them up a bit. Kohli credited the first two wickets taken by Bumrah and Shami to that intensity they were going through while batting against the England bowlers. He said that the bowlers heard the calls from the team management about the importance of runs lower down the order and their hard work with the batting coach Vikram Rathour are paying dividends now. “Wanted to let them know that we appreciated what they did, and they took the new ball and made breakthroughs for us. When we were most successful, our lower order was contributing, we went away from that a bit away from home but they are putting in the hard work with the coaches. The belief and the desire are there, to do the job for the team,” Kohli added. It wasn’t Kohli’s first win at Lord’s as he was part of the playing XI under MS Dhoni that had defeated England in 2014 on the back of a seven-wicket haul in the second innings by Ishant and a sublime century from Ajinkya Rahane. He rated the win as “quite special” as they have had the time for only a maximum of 60 overs to dismiss England for the second time in the game. India batted for some four overs after the lunch interval before declaring their second innings. There were enough runs on the board, but Kohli suggested that it was the number of overs remaining that determined the timing of declaration and not the runs on the board. “Have been a part of the winning Test last time under MS. That was pretty special. But this one, to get a result in 60 overs is quite special. And especially with someone like Siraj playing for the first time at Lord's and he bowled superbly. We decided 60 is our mark. Crucial breakthroughs with the new ball was the right start for us,” Kohli added. Kohli has not had great success using the DRS but he used it to great effect on two occasions on the final day. On one occasion, he challenged Michael Gough, who was having a pretty much perfect game. He challenged the not-out call given by Gough for Bairstow off the bowling of Ishant while the second call was taken against Richard Illingworth against the not out call for Robinson off the bowling of Bumrah. He got both of those calls perfect and India were ecstatic to see the back of them at different times of the day and game. Kohli said that he follows his instinct while calling for reviews and is always ready to cope the blame in case they go wrong. However, he said that going for reviews can eliminate wrong decisions and one will get to know only if they call for the system to work for them. “That one was gut feel but I like to go with my instinct. I am ready to cope with the blame when it goes wrong, but if you don't take a chance you never know,” Kohli asserted. Kohli was in the face of England batsmen since Bumrah was verbally targeted by England players and he has made his intentions pretty clear that India will not be short of bringing more intensity and fire onto the ground going forward in the series.

ENG vs IND | 2nd Test: Spirited pacers script India's one for the ages victory at Lord's

There would not have been many who would have put their money on the line for an India win going into the final day of the Lord’s Test. This space had also argued that it was Rishabh Pant, who was standing in between the fates of both sides. But, team India had other ideas and as a champion side do, they found a way out of trouble after the early departure of Pant and asked England to show their mental strength in the final 60 overs of what had turned out to be a riveting contest. The day was bowlers written all over it as first the pair of Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Shami scripted a fairy tale comeback for India, and then their pacers unleashed all their variety, passion and energy in 53 overs to hand England a harsh reality check. Root’s brain fade England did not help themselves with questionable tactics as they showed more concern over India’s surging lead than dismissing the final two wickets. They could do neither and by the time Root realised he was on a wrong path, it was too late for a course correction as Shami and Bumrah took India’s lead past the 200-run mark. Indian lower-order batsmen have not been at their worst as they have been known for in the last few years, but they were not technically superior to their top order batsmen as well. As soon as Bumrah joined Shami, there was an unprovoked defensive approach from Root. There could not be any plausible explanation for spreading the field against them when the ball was doing enough off the pitch. They have had the big wicket of Pant very early in the day and just needed to stick to the line and length approach which was working quite well for them. However, Root chose to see too far ahead and focussed on India’s lead and did not live in the present to marshall his troops to stick to their disciplines. He himself admitted that the onus was on him to own up the responsibility of messing up the tactics in the first session. Bumrah’s defence, Shami’s belligerent attitude Bumrah joined Shami after the fall of Ishant, who is known for his defence and not giving up attitude, both with the bat and the ball. The end was nigh for Indians and they could have flashed their hands at all deliveries to maximise their stay at the crease. Having worked hard on their batting to correct their shoddy record in the recent records, Bumrah and Shami settled down quite nicely to get behind the lien of the balls. England were not comfortable at seeing them batting with mind and started verbal tricks to unsettle Bumrah and the batsman did not hold back either, although he had a bat, not a ball in his hands. What threatened to be a short stay at the crease which could not have allowed India breathing space with the ball, the duo stitched a valiant unbeaten partnership of 89 runs filled with many crisp shots that would have made decorated Indian top and middle order proud. The game that had appeared firmly in England’s grapes was taken beyond their control in a matter of sessions and the downward curve was complete when Siraj castled Anderson to give India a 1-0 lead. England’s top order on a free fall England openers had the task of providing England with a solid start as they were asked to prove their technique and mindset in the last 60 overs of the day. However, their misery could not get any worse as Bumrah sent Rory Burns back on the third ball of the innings. Before Dom Sibley could understand the true nature of pitch after seeing his partner getting out to a notorious ball that jumped a bit awkwardly off the good length, Shami bowled a peach that left him from the line of his off stump. The openers were gone inside 12 balls and India smelled blood so early in their bowling and as soon as Root was snaffled by Kohli in the slips off Bumrah, the writing was on the wall for the feeble England batting order. Siraj matches Kohli’s passion Bumrah and Shami provided India with the perfect start but as the ball got older and they had to be replaced, England found some stability in Moeen Ali and Jos Buttler, who were attacked by Kohli with the sledge questioning their batting credentials in the longest format. Moeen was watchful and did not offer any opportunity to India except for Ravindra Jadeja’s delivery that turned out to be a no-ball. India were guilty of offering one chance each to both Buttler and Moeen and they could have lived to rue those missed opportunities. India needed their third and fourth pacer to stand up after the initial burst of Shami and Bumrah and Ishant heard the clarion call straightaway with the wickets of Haseeb Hameed and Jonny Bairstow. Siraj was yet to come to the party and he came superbly into it with back-to-back wickets of Moeen and Sam Curran, who has earned the unfortunate reckoning of becoming the only batsman to bag a king pair at Lord’s. He came back after Buttler and Robinson had reduced the remaining overs to less than 10 and India needed inspirational bowling. He was getting the ball shape in to the right-handers throughout the game and Buttler got so used to it. Then came the sucker delivery that went away from him and the wicketkeeper could not play the ball late and a delighted Pant pouched the ball safely in his glove to put England on the brink. There was tension between England’s number —Anderson and Bumrah after the Indian pacer had peppered him a barrage of short balls in the first innings. The tactics, from the outset, was similar as Siraj welcomed him with a bumper that could not rise to put him under a spot of bother. Siraj was smart and he changed the angle to show strong signs of incoming short deliveries. Anderson, as any batsman who would be expecting balls around his head, would be, was hanging on the backfoot and Siraj hit the perfect line and length to hit the top of off stump and send India and their fans into a frenzy. He picked up eight wickets across the two innings but what would have impressed Kohli the most was his attitude and willingness to keep running in irrespective of the help from the pitch and in the air. After threatening to win the first game of the series at Trent Bridge, India finally got a hard-earned win at Lord’s—their second in the last three games at the venue. The defeat has left England soul-searching after falling short of a spirited Indian pace attack.

Love your never give up attitude: Cricketers react to India's unbelievable comeback at Lord’s

It’s rare that on two continuous days you see two Test matches g down to the wire. Firstly it was West Indies vs Pakistan at Sabina Park in Jamaica and now England vs India at the home of cricket in Lord’s. The Indian team was down and out at the end of the fourth day’s play, struggling to get even a lead of more than 200 let alone think of victory. But they went on to achieve what would be called one of the greatest Test comebacks in the history of the game with Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Shami adding unbeaten 89 runs for the ninth wicket and taking India’s lead to 270. And then India coming back and bowling England out under 60 overs, was nothing but miraculous. The Indian cricketers, those part of the current set-up and the former ones were in lack of words and superlatives to describe this stupendous achievement by this team. After the Gabba victory in January this year, it is the second time that India shocked the cricket pundits and won a game they were not given a chance of even saving after the fourth day’s play. Mohammed Siraj was the hero with the ball for India picking up eight wickets in the match including four of the last five in England’s second innings to guide the team to a 151 run win. KL Rahul was however adjudged Man of the Match for his brilliant hundred in the first innings. With three Tests to go, India lead the five-match series 1-0.

Mumbai appoint Shams Mulani as captain of squad touring Oman ahead of T20 World Cup

Accepting Oman Crickets invitation to tour their country for the team’s practice ahead of the all-important T20 World Cup in which the country would be taking part. Shams Mulani, the slow left-arm bowler and more than good enough batter will lead the Mumbai side that on the tour. The Oman Cricket had earlier confirmed the 41 time Ranji winner’s tour. “The Mumbai’s tour of Oman is confirmed and I am sure they will be bringing the best available squad. These matches will be ideal preparation for the WCL League 2 tri-series in September and the T20 World Cup in October,” Oman’s coach and Oman Cricket’s Chief Development Officer Dulip Mendis said. “Mumbai has a strong side and we will get proper match practice,” said Mendis who is also,” he added. Apart from Mulani, the squad would have IPL stars like Shivam Dube and Yashasvi Jaiswal. Child sensation and also considered a prodigy, Arman Jaffer has also been included in the team that would be coached by domestic legend Amol Mazumdar. The teams would play three T20Is and three ODIs on the tour when they land in Oman on August 19. The Mumbai team would depart from the gulf nation on September 03. Mumbai Squad Shams Mulani (c), Aakarshit Gomel, Hardik Tamore, Arman Jaffer, Chinmay Sutar, Shivam Dube, Aman Khan, Sujit Naik, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shashank Attarde, Mohit Awasthi, Sairaj Patil, Deepak Shetty and Dhurmil Matkar.