‘Virat Kohli and coach Ravi Shastri knew they could get under England's skin’ – David Lloyd on Team India’s memorable win at Lord’s

Team India put up an emphatic show in the second Test against England and walked away with a memorable 151-run triumph at the iconic Lord’s Cricket Stadium. It was indeed a thrilling victory as both teams were neck-to-neck for the major part of the contest. In fact, India’s win seemed the last possible outcome at the start of Day 5. However, the bowlers rose to the occasion and bundle England out inside two sessions.

Earlier in the game, batters Rohit Sharma, KL Rahul, and Ajinkya Rahane also played handy knocks. On the other hand, besides Joe Root and Jonny Bairstow, none of the England batters looked solid in the middle. Highlighting the same, former England cricketer David Lloyd heavily criticized his countrymen. Lloyd raised concerns over England’s top-order, saying Rory Burns, Dominic Sibley, and Haseeb Hameed lacked intent.

England’s top three seem to have no intention of scoring: David Lloyd

“Look at India’s opening pair. Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul stand correctly and even though they are facing England’s greatest ever bowler in Anderson they find ways to defend and score. Our top three seem to have no intention of scoring — they are just on a massive blockathon! It’s a broken record with Root always trying to get them out of an almighty scrape,” Lloyd told the Daily Mail.

“In 57 years I have never seen an opening pair stand like Rory Burns and Dom Sibley do. Ever! It’s comedy cricket and that is the biggest issue,” he added. As mentioned above, England, at stumps on Day 4, were in a position of ascendancy. The visitors had a lead of 154 runs with just four wickets in hand. Moreover, Rishabh Pant got dismissed in the first 15 minutes of play.

However, speedsters Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Shami stunned England by added 89 runs for the ninth wicket. England’s defeat still looked unlikely as they needed to survive a tad less than two sessions. However, they weren’t able to do so and got bundled out for 120 runs. Hailing India’s approach, Lloyd asserted that skipper Virat Kohli and head coach Ravi Shastri were confident about dominating the Three Lions.

“Kohli and coach Ravi Shastri knew they could get under England’s skin. England were too meek and mild. They didn’t have enough leaders to say: ‘Right, we’ll go right back at them,'” the 74-year-old said.