The Indian skipper, Virat Kohli said he is extremely proud of the Indian team for the character and courage they have shown against England on Day 5 of the pulsating 2nd Test match at Lord’s. Kohli said India don’t rate victories at one venue higher than others but the historic win of 151 runs is special and ‘right up there’ with some of their best overseas results. India eventually bundled out England for 120 runs in less than 52 overs after setting the hosts a target of 272.
The Indian team India had headed into the final day at Lord’s under a bit of pressure as they had only Rishabh Pant to bat with the tail-enders when the lead was just over 150. India lost Pant early in the day but an unbeaten 89-run stand between Mohammed Shami (56) and Jasprit Bumrah (34) gave India a comfortable lead.
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India had less than 2 sessions to bowl England out but the bowling unit was charged up after all the banter over the last few days at Lord’s. With Mohammed Siraj leading the attack with 4 wickets, the likes of Bumrah (3/33) and Ishant Sharma (2/13) pegged England back with quick wickets.
Speaking to BCCI after India’s memorable win, Virat Kohli said, “Quite amazing. More than Lord’s or anything of that sort.. we are not really bothered about where we are playing, to be really honest. We don’t rank some games at some stadiums in the higher pecking order than the others. But having said, we won in 2014, 2018 was a bad loss for us here.”
He further elaborated, “Even then we believed we could upset England at Lord’s. That really hurt us, to be honest as a team. I am really proud of the team, we have had some amazing overseas wins and this one is right up there just because of the belief and character we showed and that’s been the hallmark of our team.”
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The Indian skipper also showered praises on openers KL Rahul and Rohit Sharma for setting the tone with making a partnership of more than 100 runs on an opening day. There was rich praise for Shami and Bumrah, the batting heroes for India on Day 5 as skipper Kohli conceded that the brilliant partnership of 89 runs boxed England out of the contest.
Virat Kohli explained, “In this series, even in the first Test, I thought we were right on top. 150-odd to get on the last day. We were so disappointed that the rain-interrupted.”
