Under the captaincy of Virat Kohli and tutelage of some of the finest coaches in Ravi Shastri and Bharat Arun, this Indian cricket team has not won much, beyond a couple of astonishing away wins in Australia.
India were eliminated from the Cricket World Cup 2019 at the semi-final stage after a crushing loss to New Zealand, who defeated them in the Cricket World Test Championship final as well. India have relinquished the Cricket Test Championship Mace since, which they held onto for about four years from 2016 to 2020.
Kohli’s team is no longer the world No 1 side either; getting back there demands more toil and perseverance.
While the trophy cabinet may not be as decorated as this team and its vast army of fans would like it to be — with Kohli yet to win an Cricket tournament as a captain — what is certainly present in abundance and perhaps most, in terms of magnitude and quality than any other cricketing on this planet, is Team India’s resilience, relentlessness and self-belief.
At the end of the day, cricket is a game which is won and lost on the field. But what goes in the backroom is largely responsible for outcomes on the ground. For example, the world’s best coaching staff may produce its best efforts to help prepare the players for achieving their goals, but if their actions do not translate adequately, a huge disparity between what is desired and what is achieved will always persist.
This is not to insinuate that the Kohli-led India team is the world’s best, or, is on its way to be one — for that matter there is not a single team on the planet right now which is impeccable, immaculate and fearsome in all major areas.
But is it not all about being best at something?
Like all teams who have their own distinct qualities, this Indian cricket team is the best when it comes to putting up a fight when every odds are stacked against them — what transpired in Sydney 2020, Brisbane 2020 and Lord’s 2021 will help you understand this best.
For a team which has lost the big moments and matches more often than not, the time to turn things around in their favour seems to be finally arriving.
On Monday, at the ‘Home of Cricket’, the Indian team faced the challenge of not being run over and conceded England a target within their reach. With only one recognised batsman in Rishabh Pant left to bat, India ran the risk of being bowled out in a short span of time and England wrapping up a win before it was time for tea.
And England did succeed in removing their biggest threat with Ollie Robinson getting the Indian wicketkeeper caught behind by Jos Buttler for a mere 22. India, who had a lead of 154 at the start, had only added 13 more runs to their overall lead by now.
Ishant Sharma, the venerable cricketer known for his defensive approach with the bat, could not have been looked up to for runs. Robinson fooled him with an off-cutter that pinned him in front of the wickets for 16. With eight wickets down, India seemed to have conceded the battle to England, who had dominated for a large part of the contest.
But then, where else do cricket teams either get made or broken if not in the field?
To the shock of many, England picked the latter. England opted to implode despite the contest in their firm grip. England chose to lose the respect of the entire cricket fraternity with their words and actions despite being in the driver’s seat. After all, following a fantastic start to the day, all that England were required to do was to run through the Indian tail which has historically performed poorly.
Joe Root and his men got into several altercations with the Indians on the field. Sat in the Lord’s revered balcony, Virat Kohli was left fuming when his bowlers Mohammed Shami and Jasprit Bumrah were barraged by a flurry of short balls and stinging comments made by English fielders, while his counterpart Root sporting a smile rather than diffusing the tension in a remarkable turnaround of events.
But in the moments of disorder, began the magic. England lost their composure and India gained theirs. After taking a blow on the head, Bumrah got even more calm and composed, ripping apart the English bowling attack to add an unprecedented 89 runs unbeaten for the ninth wicket to bat England out of the contest.
In December last year at Adelaide, Shami went for an awkward shot against Pat Cummins while moving away from the stumps. The Australian bowler chased the Indian and ended up hitting him on the wrist of his bowling arm, effectively ruling Shami out of the entire tour.
Shami did look a little naive back then with what he did, but on Monday, he came across as a batsman replete with patience and application. Shami, who had scored a crucial half-century all the way back in 2014 on England tour, brought up his second on Monday, and celebrated it by taking out his helmet and waving his bat to every single corner of the ground.
India declared shortly after lunch break, with their lead swelling up to 271. Shami made 56 not out from 70 balls with 6 fours and 1 six. Bumrah bettered his personal best to get to 34 not out. England were required to chase 272 to win in 60 overs.
Root’s team had in the past given up plenty of opportunities which required them to score a rate rate less than 4 runs per over. There was no way that England were going for a win against India. However, it was India who went for it.
And in one of the best bowling performances that spanned over four hours and a couple of sessions, the relentless Indian bowling attack made England live through an actual hell of being under tremendous pressure and domination, which left the home team batsmen cowering for some respite.
Chasing 272, England were bowled out for a mere 120 in 51.5 overs. Five of their batsmen failed to get off the mark. For the first time in their illustrious history, none of the England opening batsmen could get off the mark — that too at the ‘Home of Cricket’.
And to make the matters worse, Sam Curran, the man who made all the difference between the two teams where they played in England last time around in 2018, was handed the first-ever king pair at the ‘Mecca of Cricket’.
India gave away 29 runs in extras which was the second highest contributor for England scoresheet, with captain Root being at the top with 33 runs.
England wicketkeeper-batsman Jos Buttler tried to weather the storm facing close to a 100 balls, but the matter was sealed by India’s lionhearted fast bowler Mohammed Siraj who had him caught behind for the penultimate wicket of the innings.
And it was as if India wanted their old nemesis James Anderson as the final wicket to fall. Siraj broke through the senior England cricketer’s defence, knocked over the bail at the top of the off stump, collected the wicket on his way, and broke into wild celebrations along with his teammates with eight overs left in the day.
India, who conceded 27-run lead in the first innings, who were only 167 runs ahead with the chunk of their batting dismissed, lorded the Lord’s with a 151-run win. This was only the third time India won a Test at Lord’s, but certainly, it was their most special victory among the three.
And anyone who contests this fact must answer if they would have backed any Indian bowling attack in their history of around 70 years to do what this Indian side has done — bowl out a team inside two sessions on a flat pitch with minimal support to bowlers.
India’s fast bowling attack was relentless and unforgiving for the England batting. Bumrah returned with 15-3-33-3. Shami was magnificent in his spell of 10-5-13-1. Siraj bowled his heart out with figures of 10.5-3-32-4 and Ishant returned with 10-3-13-2. Check these numbers again, it is unlikely that you will find any better away performances in the entire history of Indian Test cricket.
