Best bowling figures by an Indian bowler across formats at Lord's
India have played several matches at the Lord's Stadium, one of the most iconic grounds in the world. It is a famous venue that has soaked up more than 200 years of history and has witnessed some outstanding games in the past.
Players from around the globe often reveal their wish to play at the famous stadium and get their names etched on the Lord’s honors board. Batters dream of hitting a century at least once in their lifetime, while bowlers to stamp their authority by taking a five-wicket haul at the celebrated stadium.
Several Indian players have time and again mentioned their love for playing at Lord's. Some have even made it on to the famed honors board with some spectacular efforts across formats.
The Men in Blue have featured in 19 Tests, nine ODIs and one T20I at the the famous stadium situated in London.
On that note, let's look at the best bowling figures by an Indian bowler across all three formats at Lord's cricket ground.
T20Is - Harbhajan Singh | 3/30
Defending champions India had a poor ICC World Twenty20 2009 campaign as they failed to qualify for the semi-finals. They lost three of their five encounters, winning only against minnows Bangladesh and Ireland.
In their game against England, the Men in Blue lost their way despite an excellent bowling display by veteran off-spinner Harbhajan Singh in the first innings.
After being put to bat first, the hosts posted 70 runs in the first 10 overs, with Kevin Pietersen racing to an unbeaten 48 off 27. However, the Indian bowlers pulled things back, picking wickets regularly. Their spinners Harbhajan Singh and Ravindra Jadeja spun a web and picked up five wickets between them.
The former even took charge of the death overs, dismissing Owais Shah in the 18th over. He then added the wickets of wicketkeeper James Forster and Greame Swann off consecutive deliveries in his last over. The off-spinner ended up with figures of 3 for 30, which restricted England to 153/7 in 20 overs.
The Men in Blue didn't have an ideal start as they lost Rohit Sharma and Suresh Raina inside the powerplay. Moreover, Jadeja struggled to get going and his 25 off 35 balls derailed India's innings a bit in the middle overs.
The unbeaten partnership between Yusuf Pathan and MS Dhoni then drove their side close to the target but they lost the game by three runs in the final over.
ODIs - Yuzvendra Chahal | 4/47
Yuzvendra Chahal scripted his name into the record books during the recently-concluded second ODI between England and India. The leg-spinner registered the best bowling figures by an Indian in ODIs at Lord's, scalping four wickets in his quota of 10 overs.
After winning the first game comprehensively, the Men in Blue once again aimed to put pressure on the hosts. They won the toss and asked the Jos Buttler-led side to bat first under good bowling conditions.
England's openers provided a steady start before Jonny Bairstow began taking the bowlers on to lead the hosts' charge. Skipper Rohit Sharma turned to Yuzvendra Chahal and the move yielded rewards for the visitors.
Yuzvendra Chahal has the best ODI bowling figures at Lords by an Indian 🔥🇮🇳
#yuzvendrachahal #CricketTwitter #engvind #IndianCricketTeam https://t.co/GUsfD69BJl
The 28-year-old varied his lengths beautifully to apply the breaks on the England innings. He first cleaned up the dangerous-looking Bairstow before dismissing Joe Root and Ben Stokes inside his first five overs. Chahal also didn't give away too many runs as India took the ascendancy in the match.
However, a half-century stand between Moeen Ali and David Willey took England beyond the 200-run mark. Once again, Rohit Sharma turned to Chahal and the leg-spinner delivered.
He broke Mohinder Amarnath's record of best bowling figures by an Indian at Lord's when he dismissed Ali for 47 with an off-pace delivery. Chahal ended with figures of 4/47 from his 10 overs. His brave bowling in the middle overs helped the visitors restrict England to 246.
Despite Chahal's excellent performance with the ball, the visitors fell well short of what would have been a series-clinching victory. Chasing 247 on a wicket that had eased up after the first innings, India never found their stride and folded for just 146 in 38.5 overs.
England's pacers put the visiting batters on the backfoot from the start and none of them even reached the 30-run mark. Reece Topley starred with a career-best 6/24 and won the "Player of the Match" award for his heroic spell.
Tests - Ishant Sharma | 7/74
Ishant Sharma put in one of the best exhibitions of short-ball bowling by an India fast bowler in the fourth innings of the Lord's Test in 2014. The lanky right-armer ran through England with figures of 7 for 74 to help the visitors record a famous win.
MS Dhoni's men were put into bat and rode on Ajinkya Rahane's 103 in the first innings to post a modest 295. England responded with 319 in their first innings. Gary Ballance (110) and Liam Plunkett (55) scored the majority of the runs for the hosts.
The second innings saw some vital contributions from Murali Vijay (95), Ravindra Jadeja (68) and Bhuvneshwar Kumar (52) for the visitors. India finished with 342, setting England a stiff 319-run target to chase.
#OnThisDay in 2014, India won a Test at Lord's for the first time since 1986, beating England by 95 runs.
Ishant Sharma starred with the ball, returning career-best innings figures of 7/74 🔥 https://t.co/3j18CatNNA
Ishant Sharma was India's hero at Lord's with a seven-wicket haul in the second innings. He cleaned up Ian Bell before inducing an outside edge from Alastair Cook’s blade with a beautiful outswinger.
However, the home side threatened to run away with the game when overnight batsmen Moeen Ali and Joe Root looked at ease in the morning session. Sharma then bowled a perfect bouncer to dismiss Ali off the final ball before lunch.
He then caught England’s middle and lower order off-guard with a barrage of short-pitched deliveries. Sharma's brilliant spell, which also included Root's wicket, turned the tables and India picked up a famous victory by 95 runs.
Sharma's bowling figures remain the best-ever by an Indian bowler in England across formats and will take some beating.