India’s Mohammed Shami hits remarkable 50 as he and Jasprit Bumrah put on 77-run ninth-wicket stand before declaring with lead of 272 as second Test at Lord’s heads towards draw
- India’s nine-wicket partnership frustrated England’s bowlers on day five at Lord’s
- Mohammed Shami and Jasprit Bumrah hit a 77-run stand in the morning session
- Shami hit a career-high of 52 and took his helmet off to celebrate the half-ton
- Ollie Robinson removed Ishant Sharma and Rishabh Pant earlier on for England
- India declared for 298-8 just after lunch with a lead of 272 for England to chase
India’s tailenders Mohammed Shami and Jasprit Bumrah put on an impressive 77-run partnership to frustrate England’s bowlers on day five at Lord’s and push the second Test towards a draw.
Joe Root’s side began the final day in promising fashion by as Ollie Robinson removed Ishant Sharma and Rishabh Pant early on to work their way through the batting order.
But Shami and Bumrah steadied the ship for the visitors to take them into lunch on 286-8, with a lead of 259 and faced a short spell at the crease in the afternoon session before retiring on 298-8 with a lead of 272.
Mohammed Shami hit a surprise half-century as India’s tailenders frustrated England’s bowlers
Shami (middle) and Jasprit Bumrah (right) hit a 70-run stand to push the second Test at Lord’s towards a draw
Shami hit a remarkable half-century, sealed with a four and a six in consecutive balls, to move his partnership with Bumrah beyond 70 runs.
It was only Shami’s second Test half-century in 53 matches with the 30-year-old bizarrely taking off his helmet when celebrating his half-ton. He reached lunch on 52 runs, the highest ever Test total he has achieved in his career, surpassing the 51 total he mustered at Trent Bridge in 2014.
Bumrah, who suffered a bash on the head from Mark Wood’s bouncer early on, also hit a new Test batting high of 30 in Monday’s morning session, with his career batting average 3.55 coming into the day’s play.
But Bumrah will be relieved that England captain Root dropped him at first slip on 22 after the India tailender edged Moeen Alli’s delivery in another frustration for the hosts and the home crowd at Lord’s.
Ollie Robinson removed Ishant Sharma and Rishabh Pant early on day five in an English boost
But Joe Root (left) dropped Bumrah (right) on 22 in a frustrating moment for the hosts at Lord’s
Things looked brighter for England as they limited the normally-impressive Pant to just 22 runs as he flicked Robinson’s delivery into the arms of Buttler when India’s lead was at 167.
Six overs later, the Sussex bowler trapped Sharma for lbw with a slower ball to leave England needing two more wickets with India leading by 182.
After lunch, Shami and Bumrah took their totals to 56 and 34 respectively – both not out – before Virat Kohli brought them back with 60 overs left in the day.
To win the Test in the last two sessions, England will need to chase India’s total 272 in the final 60 overs – but Root’s men must also avoid a batting collapse to stop their opponents from snatching a win.
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