There is a saying that the result of a Test match can change within a session. On this day, 16th August 2021, the England men's Test team learned this lesson in one of the hardest ways as the Men in Blue came from behind and won the second Test match at Lord's. It should be noted here that India entered the fifth day on 181/6 and was leading against England by 154 runs during the second innings. All eyes were on Rishabh Pant to take the team's lead beyond 250.
But luck had other plans as Pant got out within the four overs, where Ollie Robinson got his edge and wicket-keeper batter Jos Buttler took the catch. Ishant Sharma was the new batter who got out by scoring just 16 runs and also smashing a few boundaries. Due to this, the Virat Kohli-led side were reeling at 209/8 and were leading by 182 runs and Mohammed Shami and Jasprit Bumrah were the new batters.
With the Joe Root-led side inching closer towards victory, pacer Mark Wood tried to give Bumrah the same treatment, which he usually gives to batters, as he bowled a few bouncers to the Indian pacer, who did the same against James Anderson on the third day. This resulted in a heated on-field spat as the Indian skipper Virat Kohli witnessed the whole incident from the Lord's balcony.
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The Shami-Bumrah fightback
The fans and players of both teams were deeply involved in this battle of bouncers, which made this Test match spicier. The last two Indian batters didn't have any choice but to play aggressively and bounce back. It was Bumrah, who first went all-guns-blazing against Wood by smashing a boundary, and that uplifted the spirits of the Indian cricket dressing room as skipper Kohli was seen prasining his teammates.
Shami too batted brilliantly as he went all-guns-blazing against Moeen Ali. The Joe Root-led side soon lost the plot and were in a spot of bother as the lead was increasing with each run the Indian tailenders took.
At one point it looked like Shami and Bumrah were replaced by Dravid and Tendulkar, who replied to England's hostility with interest. They stitched a match-winning partnership of 89 runs and took India's lead to a new high.
"For 60 overs they should feel like hell"
Shami and Bumrah then walked back to the pavilion while receiving huge applause from the fans and the team as they had helped the team bounce back against England.
The Virat Kohli-led side then decided to introduce England to a kind of hell they never saw coming. Virat Kohli gave the speech of his life in the team huddle and that will still define his legacy. “For 60 overs, they should feel like hell,” he told the team, which helped them to unleash their carnage at Lord's.
Mohammed Siraj (4/32), Jasprit Bumrah (3/33), Ishant Sharma (2/13) and Mohammed Shami (1/13) reminded the fans of the West Indies pacers, who rattled England's batting lineup and forced them to succumb to the pressure. The Virat Kohli-led side eventually won the match at the iconic Lord's Cricket Ground and reminded England that they were there to beat them.