Team India didn’t get the desired result in the rescheduled Edgbaston against England in July 2022. However, this 2021 Pataudi Trophy, which ended with a 2-2 draw, will be remembered as one of India’s finest performances on English soil ever. In fact, if the rain hadn’t washed off the final day of the Nottingham Test last year, the scoreline of the Test series would’ve been 3-2 as Indian needed to chase 157 runs with 9 wickets in hand.
But India did it at Lord’s what they couldn’t at Trent Bridge. The visitors showcased a commendable character, coming from behind to defeat England by 151 runs to take 1-0 lead. After the heroics of KL Rahul and Rohit Sharma in the first innings, it was the duo of Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Shami that frustrated the hosts in the second innings. They forged a crucial unbeaten 89-run stand for the 9th wicket to help India set a 272-run target for Joe Root & Co.
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The innings of Bumrah and Shami had already filled the entire Indian dressing room with confidence. And when they walked out to defend the score, Kohli’s bowlers took only 51.5 overs to fold England.
Veteran wicketkeeper-batter Dinesh Karthik, who was a part of the commentary box, recently revealed the mindset of then captain Virat Kohli with which he took the field in the final innings.
Speaking to Cricbuzz on ‘Summer Stalemate’, Karthik said, “Virat Kohli said a very interesting line. I guess it was post-match. He said, ‘I wanted the English batsmen to feel what is like to be in hell for the time they were at the crease.’ He literally walked the walk and talked the talk in that 50 overs stint that India bowled because it was really a pressure-filled time for England.”
“The wicket had eased out a little more than what it was in the first innings. If at all they should have been batting more comfortably. But this is what pressure does to you. But it was the mental pressure that India put. And the kind of hole that England were digging themselves into and the kind of field they had set for the England tail-enders, all these played a part,” he added.
Karthik further explained how exciting it is to be a part of the team huddle during Kohli’s captaincy. The veteran stumper revealed that Kohli had only one aim before heading for the final innings at Lord’s; to take all the 10 England wickets.
“Kohli was very animated but he says things that really sparks you at times in the huddle and that huddle should be very special to be part of. I have been part of huddles where he has egged on players to do something special. But I think he was all charged and was gunning for those 10 wickets and he got that in 50 overs. It easily must have been one of his best Test matches,” he said.
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