20th July 2014, New Delhi: What a magnificent day of cricket has it been for Team India. First, an outstanding batting performance at lower down the order from R Jadeja and Bhuvneshwar Kumar to bail out India from deep trouble, and then a fine display of fast bowling from the Indian bowlers to give them a strong grip on this match. The turning point for the visitors in this game has been the eighth wicket partnership of 99 runs between R Jadeja and Bhuvneshwar kumar that helped India get back in to this game. Bhuvneshwar Kumar has once again impressed with his batting and his third half-century on this tour is the testament of his ability to become a genuine all-rounder for India. It’s not easy to bat in England in these conditions, and to get runs at critical stages of the game, only shows how focused and thoughtful he is for his game.
From Day one, the Lord’s pitch has thrown few surprises in terms of its behavior and has now started to assist the spinners more by offering odd and sharp bounce from the rough patches present on the pitch. Jadeja will have a crucial role on this pitch on the last day of the Test as he is someone who likes bowling on such surface. Meanwhile, credit cannot be taken from Ishant Sharma and Mohammad Shami who got India the important wickets in the last session. They made full use of the overcast conditions and bowled a disciplined line to fox the English batsmen.
On the other hand, it has not been the best of sessions for England and they would now depend on the unpredictable English weather more than its batsmen to save this match!
