Former India coach Ravi Shastri did not mince words when analyzing India’s narrow 22-run defeat in the third Test against England at Lord’s. According to Shastri, the pivotal moments that swung the match England’s way were Rishabh Pant’s unfortunate dismissal in the first innings and Karun Nair’s lapse in concentration in the second.
Pant’s Run-Out and Nair’s Error Opened the Door for England
Speaking on The ICC Review, Shastri pinpointed Pant’s run-out on 74, right before lunch on Day 3, as a major turning point.
“𝑩𝒆𝒏 𝑺𝒕𝒐𝒌𝒆𝒔… 𝒔𝒊𝒎𝒑𝒍𝒚 𝒐𝒖𝒕𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒏𝒅𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒑𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒆𝒏𝒄𝒆 𝒐𝒇 𝒎𝒊𝒏𝒅 𝒕𝒐 𝒉𝒊𝒕 𝒂𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒓𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕 𝒆𝒏𝒅 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒑𝒖𝒍𝒍 𝒊𝒕 𝒐𝒇𝒇 𝒐𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒔𝒕𝒓𝒐𝒌𝒆 𝒐𝒇 𝒍𝒖𝒏𝒄𝒉,” 𝑺𝒉𝒂𝒔𝒕𝒓𝒊 𝒏𝒐𝒕𝒆𝒅. “𝑩𝒆𝒄𝒂𝒖𝒔𝒆 𝑰𝒏𝒅𝒊𝒂 𝒘𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅 𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒈𝒐𝒕 𝒂 𝒍𝒆𝒂𝒅 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒚 𝒘𝒆𝒓𝒆 𝒊𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒅𝒓𝒊𝒗𝒆𝒓’𝒔 𝒔𝒆𝒂𝒕.”
In India’s second innings, Karun Nair and KL Rahul had put together a steady start at 41 for 1. But Nair’s decision to leave a straight ball from Brydon Carse proved disastrous.
“𝑻𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒂 𝒉𝒖𝒈𝒆 𝒍𝒂𝒑𝒔𝒆 𝒊𝒏 𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒄𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒓𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒇𝒓𝒐𝒎 𝑲𝒂𝒓𝒖𝒏 𝑵𝒂𝒊𝒓 𝒕𝒐 𝒍𝒆𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒂 𝒔𝒕𝒓𝒂𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕 𝒃𝒂𝒍𝒍, 𝒂 𝒏𝒐𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒃𝒂𝒍𝒍,” 𝑺𝒉𝒂𝒔𝒕𝒓𝒊 𝒔𝒂𝒊𝒅. “𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝒕𝒊𝒎𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒅𝒊𝒔𝒎𝒊𝒔𝒔𝒂𝒍 𝒕𝒖𝒓𝒏𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈𝒔 𝒂𝒓𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒅.”
After Nair’s dismissal, India slid from 42 for 2 to a precarious 82 for 7, putting England firmly in control.
Top-Order Batters Should Have Shown More Resilience
Shastri stressed that India’s senior batters needed to apply themselves better, especially considering how the lower order performed later.
“Because you saw when Siraj batted, when Bumrah batted, when Jadeja was batting, once the ball was 40 overs old, they hardly put a foot wrong,” he observed. “If the top order had just been a little tougher and mentally stronger on Day 4, this game would have been India’s.”
Despite the loss, Shastri believes India still have the firepower to turn the series around.
Praise for Stokes and England’s Grit
Reflecting on the contest, Shastri drew parallels with India’s famous win at Lord’s in 2021.
“𝑰𝒕 𝒓𝒆𝒎𝒊𝒏𝒅𝒆𝒅 𝒎𝒆 𝒔𝒐 𝒎𝒖𝒄𝒉 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑻𝒆𝒔𝒕 𝒎𝒂𝒕𝒄𝒉 𝒊𝒏 2021… 𝑶𝒏𝒍𝒚 𝒐𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒐𝒄𝒄𝒂𝒔𝒊𝒐𝒏, 𝒊𝒕 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝑰𝒏𝒅𝒊𝒂 𝒘𝒉𝒐 𝒃𝒂𝒕𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝒇𝒊𝒓𝒔𝒕. 𝑺𝒄𝒐𝒓𝒆𝒔 𝒘𝒆𝒓𝒆 𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒚 𝒔𝒊𝒎𝒊𝒍𝒂𝒓, 300, 300 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒏 𝒂 𝒄𝒐𝒍𝒍𝒂𝒑𝒔𝒆 𝒊𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒔𝒆𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒅 𝒊𝒏𝒏𝒊𝒏𝒈𝒔.”
This time, however, England seized the critical moments.
“You have to compliment England. When the going got tough, they seized those moments. When they saw an opening in the door, they just banged their door down,” he added.
Shastri was especially impressed by Ben Stokes’ marathon spells on the final day.
“Stokes bowling those spells… He wanted fuel in the tank for Lord’s and he showed it,” he said. “Eight overs, nine-over spells. At one stage, 10 overs towards the end to clinch it for England.”
With the series standing at 2-1 in England’s favor, India will look to regroup ahead of the fourth Test in Manchester, starting July 23.
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