Mohammed Shami and Jasprit Bumrah shared an epic ninth-wicket stand for Team India on Day 5 of the second Test versus England, at Lord’s, on Monday (August 16). Resuming the final day at 181-6, Virat Kohli & Co. had a lead of only 154 runs with 4 wickets in hand.
Their best bet was Rishabh Pant, who could’ve added some vital runs down the order with India having a long tail in the second Test. However, Pant and his overnight batting partner Ishant Sharma fell like nine pins and India were 209-8, leading only by 182 runs. Just when everyone thought India were down and out, pacers Mohammed Shami (56 not out) and Jasprit Bumrah (34 not out) stood tall and scripted a memorable 89-run unbeaten ninth-wicket partnership for India.
Hence, Shami-Bumrah shocked the whole cricketing fraternity with their application in the middle and well-compiled stand, taking England out of the contest. From thereon, Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj’s 4-fer bundled out England for 120, in pursuit of 272, as India won by 151 runs.
Former England captain David Gower reacted to Shami-Bumrah’s stupendous partnership and told Cricket.com, “The world has gone mad. The world has gone completely mad when you’ve got Mohammed Shami and Jasprit Bumrah sharing a partnership of 89 on the fifth morning. No one, not even their parents, or their close family, would have predicted that one.”
“What was interesting about the final hour was that the passion and emotions got too much for England. Yes, they’d been stirred up with the Bumrah and Anderson stuff, but it’s amazing how when your emotions take control, your carefully laid plans could become mislaid plans. Even Root had to admit that he got his tactics wrong,” Gower mentioned.
Courtesy of Shami and Bumrah’s unreal stand, India didn’t only manage to win the Lord’s Test by 151 runs, but they have also gone 1-0 up in the five-match series. The third Test gets underway from August 25 at Headingley, Leeds.
