India captain Virat Kohli said that a verbal spat between England players and two Indian tail-batsmen Mohammed Shami and Jasprit Bumrah led them to flat-out in the home team in the 60 available overs.
And the Indians eventually got the job done in 51.5 overs, with the fast bowlers putting on a high-quality performance to bowl England out for 120.
“Very proud of the whole team. We stuck to our plans the way we put in. The pitch didn’t deliver much in the first three days. The first day was the most challenging,” Kohli said in the post-match presentation.
“The way we played in the second innings after coming under pressure – Jasprit and Shami were fantastic. We believed we could get him out in 60 overs. The tension in the field in our second innings, what happened there helped us,” Kohli, who sledged Ollie Robinson towards the end of the second innings, said.
India set a target of 272 for England after an 89-run stand between tail-enders Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Shami. The entire team who came down from the dressing room appreciated the specials of both.
“Raising his hand was something we were really proud of and we wanted to tell him (standing ovation for Bumrah-Shami). The batting coach has worked really hard with the boys.
“He has the desire to do well for the team. We know how priceless those runs are. Faith (from the lower order) was missing for some time but now it is back,” Kohli said.
It was India’s third Test win at Lord’s and Kohli called it special.
“Last time I was part of the winning Test under MS (Dhoni). That was very special. But getting a result in 60 overs is very special. And especially when a player like Siraj was playing at Lord’s for the first time and he bowled brilliantly.
“We decided 60 is our mark. Significant success with the new ball was the right start for us. Very happy with the support (crowd) we got.”
England captain Joe Root admitted that his strategy was wrong when Shami and Bumrah were batting.
“We went from a very strong position where we looked like we would win games to lose. More than anything, just a few things just went wrong. That partnership, they did very well. But if I am given a chance, then I would do a lot of things differently.”
On the positives, Root said: “His attitude (Mark Wood), the way he goes about things.. Mo’s (Moeen Ali) well back. There are a few things we can take away from this game. We Used to play five match series.
“It is important not to panic and remain calm. In general, it’s good to have the crowd back on the playground,” Root said.
KL Rahul registered his name in the honors board with a brilliant century and he was the player of the match.
“I’m looking at it every morning to see if they’ve put it up permanently. They haven’t – it’s still a temporary piece of paper (name on the honors board),” said Rahul.
“It was really important to have 360 on board, very happy. Been here a few months and working really hard on my skills.
Even in the first match at Trent Bridge, the batsmen have shown a lot of discipline.
Words were regularly exchanged on the field, with the game ending tense.
“That’s what you expect with two competing teams – great skill, and a few words. We don’t mind any jokes. You chase one of our players and we’ll all be back in the XI.”
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