On this day in 2021, Team India marked a remarkable turnaround and scripted a famous win at Lord's
Team India secured one of their most memorable Test wins after defeating England by 151 runs at Lord's on August 16, 2021. The Men in Blue were down and out at one stage at the start of the final day. But not only did the visitors get themselves into a winning position, they also bowled out England inside two sessions to claim the win.
There was nothing much to separate the two sides after the end of the first innings, with only a 27-run lead gap. However, India were reeling at 194-7 at one stage in their second innings before an unlikely partnership by Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Shami titled the game in their favor.
The two tail-enders put on 89 runs for the ninth wicket to help India set a target of 272in 60 overs. Inspired by a fiery pep talk by Virat Kohli, the pace attack unleashed hell on the England batting unit. The hosts lost both their opening batters inside the first 10 deliveries of the final innings.
Team India still needed six wickets in the final session while a win was completely out of the cards for England. The visitors claimed the crucial wicket of Joe Root right after the break while Mohammed Siraj struck off consecutive deliveries to dismiss Moeen Ali and Sam Curran.
Ollie Robinson's vigil was brought to an end after Bumrah outfoxed him with a slow cutter. India were on the cusp of victory after the last recognized batter Jos Buttler was dismissed with nearly nine overs remaining in the day.
Siraj breached James Anderson's defense only a couple of deliveries later to secure the famous win at the Home of Cricket.
"We thought with 60 overs to go we could have a crack" - Virat Kohli on Team India's triumph
The win gave the visitors a 1-0 lead in the five-match series, which was deserving to say the least, especially since they were robbed of a certain victory due to rain in the series opener at Trent Bridge, Nottingham.
KL Rahul was adjudged as player of the match for his patient first-innings century on testing conditions on Day 1 at Lord's.
Virat Kohli hailed the team's performance that resulted in the iconic win. He said during the post-match presentation:
"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."
The Men in Blue won their first Test at Lord's in 1986. Since then, they have claimed wins at the iconic venue during the 2014 and 2021 tours.
Where does the Lord's Test win of 2021 rank among the Men in Blue's greatest overseas red-ball triumphs? Let us know what you think.