In what is a very significant Test match, with a lot of players battling for their future in Test cricket, Liam Plunkett staked his claim for a more permanent spot in the England team with a brilliant all round performance of great importance that might yet turn the Lord’s Test in England’s way. The 3rd day’s play of the Lord’s Test match was another excellent day of Test cricket, and just what was needed for a series that went off to such a poor start at Trent Bridge.
The match was very evenly poised at the close of play, with India scoring 169 for the loss of 4 top order wickets, with skipper MS Dhoni and India’s most consistent batsman in the series so far, Murali Vijay still at the crease. The lead so far for India is 145 runs as we go into what will be a game changing 4th day’s play today.
The day began with England 66 runs short of India’s first innings total. But with Liam Plunkett going aggressively after the Indian pace bowlers, hitting some of the most exquisite cover drives to the boundary, England made up for the deficit in super quick fashion. Matt Prior has been in a horrendous run of form lasting for almost a year and a half now, but even he got into the act to a lesser extent than Plunkett before trying to hook a bouncer from Mohammad Shami out of the ground, only to see it being caught by the slip fielder Shikhar Dhawan. Ben Stokes was out for another duck, his third successive one, which should be a concern for him, and Stuart Broad didn’t last long either. But Jimmy Anderson has been playing very well as a batsman, and he and Plunkett put up a decent 39 run partnership for the last wicket, taking England beyond India’s score and even getting a small lead of 25. Plunkett was unbeaten on a fine 55 by the time England’s innings folded for 319.
[one_third last=”no”][content_boxes layout=”icon-with-title” iconcolor=”” circlecolor=”” circlebordercolor=”” backgroundcolor=”#cdefc4″] [content_box title=”” icon=”play” image=”https://www.indiabet.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/bet365.png” image_width=”100″ image_height=”40″]
Deposit Match
Read Review[/content_box] [/content_boxes][/one_third]
[one_third last=”no”][content_boxes layout=”icon-with-title” iconcolor=”” circlecolor=”” circlebordercolor=”” backgroundcolor=”#cdefc4″] [content_box title=”” icon=”play” image=”https://www.indiabet.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/rajah-bet.png” image_width=”100″ image_height=”40″]
Deposit Match
Read Review[/content_box] [/content_boxes][/one_third]
[one_third last=”yes”][content_boxes layout=”icon-with-title” iconcolor=”” circlecolor=”” circlebordercolor=”” backgroundcolor=”#cdefc4″] [content_box title=”” icon=”play” image=”https://www.indiabet.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/888sport.png” image_width=”100″ image_height=”40″]
Deposit Matches
Read Review[/content_box] [/content_boxes][/one_third]
Bhuvneshwar Kumar was the hero for India, taking another five wicket haul, his second of the series and finishing with excellent figures of 6 for 82. Kumar has been sensational for India, picking up 11 wickets so far, and with a batting average of 78, with two Test match fifties. Surely, the man of the series so far. Kumar has single handedly held the Indian bowling together, as others like Mohammad Shami, Ishant Sharma and Ravindra Jadeja have underperformed, never looking anywhere close to taking wickets.
India began well with Shikhar Dhawan hitting a few lovely fours early on, making a quick 31 before getting out, as he usually does. The catch by Joe Root off Ben Stoke’s bowling was stunning, so one cannot blame Dhawan this time. But he has to get out of this habit of making quick 20s and 30s before giving up his wicket if he has to have a future in Test cricket. Cheteshwar Pujara joined Murali Vijay, and the duo were solid, exhibiting great patience, leaving everything outside the offstump, before Pujara made an uncharacteristic mistake, fishing outside the offstump to an outswinger from Liam Plunkett. The score was 118 when he got out. The very next ball, Plunkett bowled a quick inswinger to the next batsman at the crease, Virat Kohli, who assuming the ball to be outside the offstump, let it go, only to see it clipping the bails off. This represents another failure for Kohli, who’s had a really poor start to the series so far.
Ajinkya Rahane did not last long either, getting out to a ball that came off his arm, but which the umpire judged to have come from his glove. An unfortunate dismissal, one which wouldn’t have happened had DRS technology been used for this series.
Dhoni joined Vijay, and the duo negotiated the England bowlers quite comfortably, putting on an unbeaten 46-run partnership, as the day finished with India 145 runs ahead and with 6 wickets in hand. A fascinating day of cricket awaits us this Sunday, and England will want to run through the Indian line-up as quickly as they can before the lead stretches any further.
