The best of India in England, Part 3: Ajinkya Rahane and Ishant Sharma, the Lords of Lord's in India's stunning win
Ajinkya Rahane, Ishant Sharma and Bhuvneshwar Kumar were the heroes for India as they beat England at Lord's in 2014.
Having ridden on second-innings half-centuries from debutant Stuart Binny, batting at No. 8, and No. 9 Bhuvneshwar Kumar to secure an honourable draw in the first Test in Nottingham, India travelled to Lord’s Test high on belief and morale. With everything to play for in their first five-Test series in England since 1959, Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s men were quietly confident of delivering the first strike.
But their hopes took a beating on being put in by Alastair Cook. Shikhar Dhawan perished in the third over and while three of the top four got into the 20s, India found James Anderson too hot to handle, slumping to 145 for seven when the Lancastrian trapped Binny in front.
Fortunately for them, Ajinkya Rahane was still around. The little Mumbaikar had earned a reputation for scoring big and attractively overseas – five of his first six Tests were ‘away’, and included efforts of 96 in Durban and 118 in Wellington in the preceding eight months – and enhanced his stature with a magnificent, counter-attacking 103 full of breathtaking strokes. Rahane cut a dashing figure, raking off-side shots competing with pulls as he carried Bhuvneshwar along in an eighth-wicket stand that yielded 90.
India eked out 150 for the last three wickets to post 295, below par but a massive improvement from the depths they found themselves in on Binny’s dismissal. Building on his batting heroics, Bhuvneshwar used swing and the infamous Lord’s slope to telling effect, winkling out Cook, his opening partner Sam Robson and Ian Bell in no time. And when Ravindra Jadeja trapped Joe Root leg before for a laboured 13, India were even eying a first-innings lead with the hosts struggling at 113 for four.
But like Rahane had on day one, the left-handed Gary Ballance – who would later also play Test cricket for Zimbabwe – orchestrated a stirring rescue act alongside Moeen Ali as 98 came for the fifth wicket. Ballance’s 110 was measured, 203 balls, 15 fours, when he and Moeen were evicted within three runs of each other. Enter Liam Plunkett in a flurry of boundaries, muscling his team to a lead of 24 with useful associations with Matt Prior and last man Anderson.
The track was still very good for batting and India’s top order cashed in, led by the implacable M Vijay’s patient 95. Plunkett, who had bowled Virat Kohli first ball, triggered a few flutters with a superb mid-innings burst but from 245 for seven at Vijay’s fall, India rallied to 342, thanks to Jadeja and Bhuvneshwar, and their 99-run stand for the eighth wicket. Two days previously, Jadeja had been involved in an altercation with Anderson in India’s first innings, with the England pacer allegedly pushing and abusing the India all-rounder in the narrow corridor leading to the two dressing rooms. It resulted in post-match hearings by Judicial Commissioner Gordon Lewis, which ended without any major sanctions, but Jadeja had already punished Anderson and England for the slight with a game-changing 68, off a mere 57 deliveries, by channeling his anger and hurt.
Ishant Sharma and the short ball tactic
England had a day and a half to knock off 319 but stumbled to 72 for four with Ishant Sharma emerging as the early hero, knocking over Cook and Bell. Having spent an anxious night pondering what lay ahead at 105 for four, England made untroubled progress in the first session of the final day through Root and Moeen. The runs didn’t come at a frenetic pace, but each over negotiated without alarm adding to India’s frustration and a sense of ‘what if’.
Almost in desperation, Dhoni instructed Ishant to bowl short and at the batters’ body. It was an instruction that was to bear spectacular dividends.
Moeen’s travails against the short ball are well documented; off the last delivery before lunch, as Ishant fired the ball towards his helmet, the left-hander closed his eyes and held his bat up in front of his face. The ball lobbed off his gloves to Pujara at short-leg; India’s collective yell could be heard all the way back home. A pesky 101-run stand had been broken, the timing of Moeen’s dismissal most opportune.
Dhoni didn’t need a second invitation to ask Ishant to persist with the short-ball ploy when the second session began, triggering a bizarre phase of play. India had three, sometimes four, men patrolling the on-side boundary and England appeared to allow their egos to get the better of them. Prior, Ben Stokes and Root were all caught in the deep pulling Ishant (7/74) and it was in the fitness of things that Jadeja scored a direct hit to run Anderson out and help India complete a sensational 95-run heist. Who would have thought an Indian pacer would bounce out the opposition on a day-five surface!
Brief scores
India: 295 all out in 91.4 overs (Cheteshwar Pujara 28, Virat Kohli 25, Ajinkya Rahane 103, Bhuvneshwar Kumar 36; James Anderson 4-60, Stuart Broad 2-79, Ben Stokes 2-40) and 342 all out in 103.1 overs (M Vijay 95, Shikhar Dhawan 32, Pujara 43, Ravindra Jadeja 58, Bhuvneshwar 52; Stokes 3-51, Liam Plunkett 3-65, Moeen Ali 2-28) beat England: 319 all out in 105.5 overs (Gary Ballance 110, Mooen 32, Plunkett 55 n.o.; Bhuvneshwar 6-82, Jadeja 2-46) and 223 all out in 88.2 overs (Ballance 27, Joe Root 66, Moeen 39; Ishant Sharma 7-74) by 95 runs. Player of the Match: Ishant Sharma.
