Karun Nair at Lord's (Source:@sujeetsuman1991/X.com)
The Lord's Test between India and England turned out to be an absolute thriller, with the home team winning the game by 22 runs in the final session of the match. India had their moments in the game and kept fighting till the very end. However, there were some moments where India could not capitalise, and it cost them the match.
Ravi Shastri Calls Rishabh Pant's Run Out As Turning Point
Now, Ravi Shastri has also pinpointed a couple of moments from the Test in his chat with Sanjana Ganesan on ICC Review. The former Indian coach first labelled Rishabh Pant's run out in the first innings of the Test as a turning point and credited Ben Stokes for it. He applauded the English captain's presence of mind to target the right end at the stroke of Lunch and reckoned that it halted India's momentum.
“The turning point for me in this Test match was, first of all, Rishabh Pant's dismissal [in the first innings]. 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,” Ravi Shastri said on the latest editon of The ICC Review.
Ravi Shastri Explains How India Lost Crucial Moments In Lord's Test
Shastri then goes onto add that Karun Nair made a big error in the second innings after he got a decent start. The coach mentioned that the batter missed a straightforward ball, which was a huge lapse in concentration, and gave England a chance to get back into the match.
According to Shastri, the timing of that wicket was wrong as it exposed the middle order early and Indian batters kept losing wickets at regular intervals on a tough pitch. Ravi Shastri also cited the example of Jadeja, Bumrah and Siraj and how they batted with great grit and reckoned that a longer partnership at the top would have helped rest of the batters.
"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,” said 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."
Thus, Shastri's analysis shows that India's failure to capitalise when they were in a strong position cost India the game. The same thing happened in the opening Test, and India would be hoping that they don't commit the same mistakes in the last two Tests.
