3rd Test Preview as India rock up to Lords with momentum while England look to Archer for a bowling shake-up.
3rd Test at Lord’s set for Archer vs Bumrah as India, England eye crucial lead.
India lost the unwinnable Test at Headingley. Despite their most hopeful pre-series expectations, they made dramatic apologies at Edgbaston.
The captain’s 430-run haul, which was second only to Graham Gooch in a well-known prelude to this most recent Lord’s match 35 years ago, was an unquenchable response to his team’s time of need if there had been a silent belief prior to the tour that Shubman Gill was too good to continue averaging under 30 in overseas Tests.
Furthermore, nobody informed Akash Deep that he was supposed to be a conservative choice if India’s team selection had suggested a readiness to accept a draw while their premier strike bowler rested.
Bumrah himself would have been delighted of Akash Deep’s incredible ten-wicket haul, especially his candidacy for ball of the series to Joe Root in the second innings (no, it wasn’t a back-foot no-ball; the MCC has explained the verdict).
India’s seamers controlled a particularly aggressive Dukes ball and ensured that hardly an over was wasted when it was at its newest and shiniest, with Mohammed Siraj filling in as he frequently has when Bumrah is not available. The shocking number of six ducks England scored in the first innings demonstrated just how thoroughly they were caught off guard by top-tier quick bowling.
The magnitude of this disaster won’t necessarily shake England. With two of their previous four fourth innings ending in losses by 423 runs against New Zealand in Hamilton in December and now by 336 runs at Edgbaston, it’s easy to make fun of their resolve to take on any given run-chase.
However, six chases of 250 or more during the Bazball period, with India losing both of their highest ever, attest to the degree of England’s break from tradition.
But whether India lets England improve on that performance is another story. At Edgbaston, Gill’s unrelenting run-making demonstrated his resolve to avoid getting sucked into his opponents’ game. He had been in control of 93% of his shots over 386 balls until exhaustion finally overcame him on 269 in the second, a phenomenal statistic that demonstrated his refusal to give any suckers an even break.
Jofra Archer’s comeback might provide Gill with the impetus he lacked at Edgbaston. Archer’s spectacular debut on this pitch six years ago, when he dismissed Steven Smith during a blisteringly short period in the 2019 Ashes, is sure to linger in the mind.
But the truth may be slightly different. Archer, who is thirty years old and, hopefully, has recovered from a long string of injuries, would be justified in positioning himself as a different kind of bowler for this second coming: a scalpel as opposed to the sledgehammer that Josh Tongue and Brydon Carse attempted to be in the first two games, with differing degrees of success.
In any case, it is expected to be the most spectacular event. At the ideal point in a gripping five-Test series, Lord’s hosts the real overlords of the contemporary game.