London [UK], July 11 (ANI): Former England pacer Stuart Broad hailed pacer Jofra Archer’s first spell during his comeback Test match after four years against India at Lord’s, calling it a “five-over spell of drama, theatre, excitement and joy”.
In his first Test since February 2021, Archer looked just as imperious as he looked in his last Test outing, troubling batters with a fine line and length, beating their bat and consistently touching the 145 kmph mark.
Archer displayed his skills during the second session on day two of third Test at Lord’s, which is his 14th Test outing. Archer struck on his third ball, removing Yashasvi Jaiswal.
Speaking on Sky Sports, Broad exclaimed, “Archer bowled a five-over spell of drama, theatre, excitement and joy.”
Former Indian all-rounder and head coach Ravi Shastri said that the anticipation was unbelievable as Archer marked his run-up.
“When he got that wicket, all hell broke loose. The way he celebrated it, you could tell it meant so much to him.”
“That is what crowds come to see: the ups and downs,” he added.
At Tea, India were 44/1 in 14 overs, trailing behind England by 343 runs.
The post-lunch session began with India making inroads to pull the curtains down on England’s innings. Mohammed Siraj forced an outside edge from Jamie Smith (51), which travelled straight to the substitute wicketkeeper Dhruv Jurel behind the stumps.
Brydon Carse flexed his boundary-hitting prowess, but Jofra perished as Bumrah rattled his stumps to punch his return ticket on 4(11), bringing up his maiden five-wicket haul at Lord’s. Carse brought up his half-century by picking up Siraj’s slower delivery and dispatching it for a towering maximum.
Siraj was left in dismay after Jurel managed to get fingertips on the ball but fumbled it, allowing Carse the opportunity to continue with his belligerent approach. Eventually, Siraj got Carse wth the yorker ploy and castled him on 56(83), marking the end of England’s innings on 387.
England speedster Archer, who returned to the format after four years, enchanted the spectators with his blistering pace in his first over. On the third delivery, he lured a healthy leading edge from Yashasvi Jaiswal, which flew to Harry Brook, stationed at the second slip. Karun and Rahul forged India’s comeback and ensured India remained unscathed before returning for tea with an unbeaten partnership of 31.
At the beginning of the day, England took to the field in the first session at 251/4, with Root (99*) and skipper Ben Stokes (39*) unbeaten.
In the first ball of the day with a boundary, Root continued his incredible run at Lord’s, notching his ninth international ton at the venue and his 37th century in Test cricket, climbing to fifth spot among all-time Test centurions.
In the 86th over, Jasprit Bumrah produced the breakthrough for India, producing a brilliant nip-backer that crashed into Stokes’ top of off-stump, removing him for 44 in 110 balls, with four boundaries. England was 260/5, ending an 88-run partnership between two of the most senior players in the group.
Jamie Smith was next up on the crease and immediately went after Mohammed Siraj with two cracking fours.
However, in the very next over, Bumrah once again came in clutch, castling Root for a 199-ball 104 consisting of 10 fours and then getting Chris Woakes caught behind by Dhruv Jurel for a golden duck. England was 271/7.
Smith continued his attacking brand of cricket, collecting boundaries against Siraj and Bumrah and playing some fine shots, displaying his class and power. The 300-run mark came up for England in 92.3 overs. Even Carse produced some handy boundaries.
Smith continued his red-hot form, reaching his fifty in 52 balls, with six fours. On the same delivery, England reached their 350-run mark. Smith and Carse made sure that England ended the session without any further trouble.
Brief Scores: England: 387 (Joe Root 104, Brydon Carse 56; Jasprit Bumrah 5/74) vs India 44/1 (Karun Nair 18*, KL Rahul 13*; Jofra Archer 1/16). (ANI)
