'Bumrah and Shami had fun at England's expense': Lloyd says Joe Root's men 'lost the plot' against India's tailenders
David Lloyd mentioned that England lost track by concentrating on intimidating Jasprit Bumrah, who put 89 runs for the ninth wicket with Mohammed Shami, rather than try and get him out.
Entering the fifth day of the Lord's Test as favourites to win the match, England were blind-sided by Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Shami's counterattack. The pair added an unbeaten 89-run partnership for India's ninth wicket, and its effect was such that England could never recover from their dogged batting and eventually lost the match, chasing 272 to win. Shami, in fact, recorded his second Test fifty and along with Bumrah took India from 209/8 to 298/8 before captain Virat Kohli declared.
The spirited fightback from Shami and Bumrah caught England off guard, and needing to survive 60 overs in the day, the hosts were bowled out for 120 in 51.5 overs, with Mohammed Siraj grabbing 4/32. That England were put on the defensive by India's tail is a topic many former cricketers have offered their views on, with David Lloyd mentioning that the home team lost track by concentrating on intimidating Bumrah, rather than try and get him out.
"The Test went away from England when Jasprit Bumrah came into bat. They just seemed intent on knocking lumps off him rather than getting him out. There's always something great about a tail-end partnership. Bumrah and Mohammed Shami had fun at England's expense. It looked as if England had lost the plot," Lloyd wrote in his column for The Daily Mail.
Another department where India scored points over England was their top order. KL Rahul scored a century, aided by Rohit Sharma's 83 and Virat Kohli's 42 in the first innings. In the second innings, Cheteshwar Pujara (45) and Ajinkya Rahane (61) stitched a 100-run partnership which bailed India out of trouble. England in contrast were nowhere near, with only captain Joe Root providing some substance. Lloyd in particular was not impressed with England's opening pair of Dominic Sibley and Rory Burns, who went for ducks in the second innings.
"That's the first time both England openers have been out for nought in the same innings of a home Test. An incredible stat. The pair of them, Rory Burns and Dom Sibley, were very square on again. I keep on seeing a lot of their back shoulders. You just can't play that way at this level I'm afraid, however good the bowling is," Lloyd added.