England vs India: Ishant Sharma dismisses Moeen Ali and Sam Curran off successive deliveries

Momentum has been riding on a rollercoaster in the ongoing second Test between India and England at the Lord’s Cricket Stadium. Team India would have been pleased after posting 364 runs in the first innings. However, the Three Lions forged a comeback by putting up a substantial batting effort. Riding on a brilliant century from skipper Joe Root, the home team crossed the 300-run mark with five wickets in hand.

However, Ishant Sharma delivered a stellar spell to keep India in the hunt. He dismissed Moeen Ali and Sam Curran off successive deliveries as England were reduced to 341/7. It might prove to be the turning point of the game as England were cruising towards a mammoth total. Speaking of the dismissals, Ali, batting at 27, edged the ball to the first slip.

Two in two for Ishant Sharma

It was the penultimate delivery of the 111th over and Ishant went for a gentle outswinger. Ali was foxed and skipper Virat Kohli took a fine catch. Sam Curran was next at the crease and all he could survive is one delivery. The right-arm pacer welcomed him with a sharp outswinger as Curran looked utterly clueless.

Subsequently, the ball took the outside edge of his willow and Rohit Sharma accepted an easy catch at the second slip. The back-to-back wickets indeed changed the course of the game as India came back in the hunt. Not to forget, this spell was also crucial for Ishant as several questions were raised over his place in the playing XI.

Ishant roars back into the game getting two in two as Moeen and Curran nick to slip 🏏

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Nevertheless, the 32-year-old silenced his critics in the best possible manner. However, Team India can’t afford to slow down with Joe Root being in the middle. The England skipper has been at his prime this series and it would be interesting to see how far he goes. Notably, Root has already crossed the 160-run mark and he doesn’t seem to have any plans of slowing down.

It must be noted that the first match of the five-match series resulted in a draw. Hence, the winner of this game would put the first points on the board. The contest is perfectly poised as of now, and both teams would not want to put a foot wrong.