Stuart Broad's 5 best bowling performances against India
After the end of play on Day 3 of the ongoing 5th Ashes Test Match at The Oval, England's Stuart Broad dropped a bombshell. The veteran seamer announced that he would retire from international cricket at the end of the ongoing match.
It was a decision that took fans and pundits by surprise as Broad has been in fine touch in recent times. However, the England bowler mentioned that he always wanted to leave the game on a high, and he feels it is an appropriate time.
Stuart Broad - for everything, thank you ❤️
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Broad has picked up 602 wickets in the Test arena and he will look to add some more to the tally during Australia's second dig with the bat in London. He will hope to put up a performance which helps England level the ongoing series 2-2 and Australia will be wary of that.
After all, he has been quite a pain for the Aussies ever since he played his first game against them at the Sophia Gardens, Cardiff, in 2009.
Another opposition against which Broad has enjoyed playing is India. He has featured in 24 Tests, 19 ODIs, and 4 T20Is against the Asian giants and has performed reasonably well.
So, as we bid farewell to the great England seamer, here's a look at 5 of his best bowling performances against India:
#5 4-33 (Visakhapatnam, 2016)
Stuart Broad doesn't boast of a good record in Indian conditions but in a Test match in Visakhapatnam in 2016, he bowled extremely well to return figures of 4-33. This effort came on a pitch that barely had anything in it for the quicks.
In India's second innings, he picked up the big wickets of Murali Vijay, KL Rahul, and Ajinkya Rahane, which helped England bowl India out for 204. He also picked up the scalp of Ravichandran Ashwin to complete his four-wicket haul.
India won that game comfortably, by a margin of 246 runs, but that was down to a poor show in the first innings by the visitors. Broad's performance in this game still ranks amongst the best by seamers in India in recent times, as the pitches have been tailor-made to suit spinners.
#4 4-37 (Lord's 2011)
In a Test match against India at Lord's in 2011, England absolutely pumped the visitors by a margin of 196 runs. In fact, the whole tour was a terrible one for India as they lost the Test series 4-0.
Most of the English players enjoyed great success during the series and Stuart Broad had his share. He started the series on a great not by picking up a four-wicket haul in India's first innings of the opening encounter at Lord's.
The tall pacer dismissed a well-set Abhinav Mukund, southpaw Gautam Gambhir,, and the legendary Sachin Tendulkar to put India in a tough situation. He returned later to complete his four-fer with the wicket of Praveen Kumar.
His performance helped England take a lead of 188 runs in the first innings and that set the tone for what was a clinical victory. Broad picked up another three wickets in the second innings to inflict more misery on India.
#3 4-55 (Indore, 2008)
Stuart Broad last played a one-day international back in 2016, which makes us forget that he has also picked up 178 wickets in the format. He is, in fact, one of England's leading wicket-takers in ODIs.
One of his finest performances in the format came against India in Indore in 2008, when he registered figures of 4-55. He picked up three early wickets, in the form of Virender Sehwag, Suresh Raina, and Rohit Sharma to rattle India and reduce them to 29-3.
Yuvraj Singh then took matters into his own hands as he scored a fantastic century to help India make a comeback in the game. Broad later helped England see the back of him.
In the second innings, he contributed 22 runs with the bat but England lost the game owing to the main batters' failure to convert starts. However, Broad's spell early on was very impressive.
#2 6-25 (Old Trafford, 2014)
At Old Trafford in 2014, Stuart Broad single-handedly destroyed the Indian batting order to set up a phenomenal win for his side. India, batting first, had no answers to the questions posed by the tall pacer who ended with figures of 6-25.
He picked up two wickets early on as India were reduced to 8/4 with Jimmy Anderson doing the rest of the damage. MS Dhoni (71) and Ravichandran Ashwin (40) tried their level best to take India to safer waters, but Broad dismissed them as well. He then took care of the tail as India were bowled out cheaply for 152.
England won the game by an innings and 54 runs and Broad, quite deservingly, was adjudged the Player-of-the-Match.
#1 6-46 (Trent Bridge, 2011)
One of Stuart Broad's finest performances in Test cricket, not only against India, but overall, came in the Trent Bridge Test of 2011. He picked up a six-wicket haul in India's first innings, which included a hat-trick.
England made 221 in the first innings and in response, India were in a good position at 267-5, before Broad orchestrated an unbelievable collapse. India were bowled out for 288 as Broad picked up the last five wickets in a jiffy to give England all the momentum heading into the second innings.
England eventually won the Test by 329 runs and it is worth noting that Broad had a great Test match with the bat as well. In the first innings, he made 64 and in the second, he contributed 44 runs. He was named the Player-of-the-Match for his remarkable all-round efforts.