Another abysmal batting display sends India to its doom at Lord's

Broad capitalises on damp and gloomy conditions to scythe through the top-order.

August 12, 2018 05:54 pm | Updated August 13, 2018 08:21 am IST - London

Breached: Cheteshwar Pujara’s determined stay was ended by a Stuart Broad in-swinger.

Breached: Cheteshwar Pujara’s determined stay was ended by a Stuart Broad in-swinger.

All the fuss about the weather was for nothing. In the end it took England less than two full days to blow India away at Lord’s and claim a 2-0 series lead. 

Stuart Broad and the incredible James Anderson combined to take eight wickets as India sank to defeat by an innings and 159 runs on the fourth day of the second Test. The humiliation was complete about an hour after tea, Virat Kohli’s men having lasted all of 82.2 overs over two innings. 

Big ask

There is no denying that India’s luck was rotten: this was a bad toss to lose, and the touring batsmen had to deal with the worst of the conditions. But a side ranked No.1 in the world is held to a higher standard. Only one team in Test history has come back from 0-2 down to win a five-match series — Don Bradman’s Australia in the 1936-37 Ashes. It’s reasonable to presume that India has no Bradman to call on.

The downpour that had been forecast for Sunday did not materialise. Instead, England batted on under dull skies in the morning, declaring on a lead of 289. It was going to need a heroic effort from India’s batsmen to deny the home side a win. And there wasn’t one. Where day three was sunny, day four was damp and gloomy. 

Vijay gets a pair

Anderson is not one to waste such opportunities. In the third over, he got one delivery to seam back into M. Vijay; it kissed the inside edge on its way to Jonny Bairstow. Vijay walked back having bagged a pair; once a trusted, reliable hand at the top of the order, he has this year been out of sorts. 

K.L. Rahul was also flummoxed by Anderson, an in-ducker trapping him in front; he did not even bother with a review. Light rain forced an early lunch, at which stage India was 17 for two, giving Kohli an enormous opening-pair headache with three Tests left in the series.

Kohli’s painful stay

That was not the only pain Kohli was in. India’s skipper had spent some time off the field on Saturday for treatment on a stiff back. He did not take the field on the fourth morning, and was thus not eligible to bat for the first 37 minutes of the Indian innings. He seemed in discomfort during his stay at the crease, grimacing when pushing forward to defend and limping between the wickets. India will fret over his availability for the third Test.

Ajinkya Rahane walked out at four instead. He batted with caution for his 13 until he chased a wider delivery from Broad and was caught at third slip. 

Cheteshwar Pujara, run-out in unfortunate fashion in the first innings, was determined to stay at the crease, and made no pretense of entertaining anybody. He faced 87 balls for his 17, an innings that included 75 dot balls. Broad had been causing him trouble and eventually bowled him with a big in-swinger, the ball brushing the pads and knocking the stumps over. Kohli and Pujara had kept England at bay for half an hour but hope was quickly evaporating.

Broad was humming now, bowling fast, getting the ball to tail in sharply. He soon claimed the Indian captain, who had clearly been struggling with his back. An awkward short delivery was fended off; the ball flicked the glove before ballooning off the batsman’s thigh. Ollie Pope dived forward to hold a good catch at forward-short-leg. Kohli was convinced he had not hit the ball and reviewed the decision, but replays showed there was slight contact with the glove. 

Finishing off

Broad was on fire and he struck again next ball, pinning Dinesh Karthik leg-before. At tea, India was six down.

The formalities did not take long. Once Hardik Pandya fell, the visitor lost four for 14 in five overs. Only R. Ashwin resisted, his side’s top-scorer in both innings, braving a couple of blows on the knuckles. He should recover in time for Saturday’s third Test in Nottingham. India may not.

Scoreboard

India —1st innings:  107.

England — 1st innings:  Alastair Cook c Karthik b Ishant 21 (25b, 4x4) , Keaton Jennings lbw b Shami 11 (22b) , Joe Root lbw b Shami 19 (53b, 2x4) , Ollie Pope lbw b Hardik 28 (38b, 3x4) , Jonny Bairstow c Karthik b Hardik 93 (144b, 12x4) , Jos Buttler lbw b Shami 24 (22b, 4x4), Chris Woakes (not out) 137 (177b, 21x4) , Sam Curran c Shami b Hardik 40 (49b, 5x4, 1x6) ; Extras (b-11, lb-10, nb-1, w-1): 23; Total (for seven wkts. decl. in 88.1 overs): 396.

Fall of wickets:  1-28 (Jennings, 7.3 overs), 2-32 (Cook, 8.2), 3-77 (Pope, 21.2), 4-89 (Root, 24.4), 5-131 (Buttler, 31.1), 6-320 (Bairstow, 74.4), 7-396 (Curran, 88.1).

India bowling:  Ishant 22-4-101-1, Shami 23-4-96-3, Kuldeep 9-1-44-0, Hardik 17.1-0-66-3, Ashwin 17-1-68-0.

India — 2nd innings:  M. Vijay c Bairstow b Anderson 0 (8b) , K.L. Rahul lbw b Anderson 10 (16b, 2x4) , Cheteshwar Pujara b Broad 17 (87b, 1x4) , Ajinkya Rahane c Jennings b Broad 13 (33b, 2x4) , Virat Kohli c Pope b Broad 17 (29b, 2x4) , Hardik Pandya lbw b Woakes 26 (43b, 5x4), Dinesh Karthik lbw b Broad 0 (1b) , R. Ashwin (not out) 33 (48b, 5x4),  Kuldeep Yadav b Anderson 0 (7b) , Mohammed Shami lbw b Anderson 0 (3b) , Ishant Sharma c Pope b Woakes 2 (7b) ; Extras (b-6, lb-6): 12; Total (in 47 overs): 130.

Fall of wickets:  1-0 (Vijay, 2.2), 2-13 (Rahul, 6.1), 3-35 (Rahane, 18.6), 4-50 (Pujara, 26.5), 5-61 (Kohli, 30.3), 6-61 (Karthik, 30.4), 7-116 (Hardik, 42.1), 8-121 (Kuldeep, 43.4), 9-125 (Shami, 45.1).

England bowling:  Anderson 12-5-23-4, Broad 16-6-44-4, Woakes 10-2-24-2, Curran 9-1-27-0.

Man-of-Match:  Woakes.

England won by an innings and 159 runs to take 2-0 lead in five-match series.

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