“After reading the newspapers and social media, I realized the magnitude of the victory,” says R Sridhar on Lord’s Test win
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India played one of the greatest test matches in the history of their game. They registered a stunning victory against England by defeating them by 151 runs at Lord’s. This was India’s third test victory at the iconic stadium after 1986 and 2014. The team’s manifestation of aggression, resilience, and grit was lauded by the cricketing world.
In conversation with R Ashwin on the youtube channel, India’s fielding coach R Sridhar didn’t expect the partnership between Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammad Shami would turn the scenario of the game. He said “It’s just sinking in. After reading the newspapers and social media, I realized the magnitude of the victory. Definitely, didn’t expect the game to turn on its head in the matter of 1 hour and 1 partnership.”
During the game, members of the Indian team were discussing the number of overs required to bowl out England. However, R Sridhar revealed that Virat Kohli and Ravi Shastri decided to let the team bat for a couple of overs post lunch before declaring the innings. He said “Even then, we were discussing how many overs we needed to bowl out England. Correctly, Ravi Shastri and Virat Kohli told that we needed to bat a couple of overs after lunch.” Ravichandran Ashwin believes that turned out to be a perfect decision.
KL Rahul’s preparation has been extraordinary, says R Sridhar
KL Rahul played one of the best knocks in his career, scoring 129 runs off 250 balls in the first innings of the second Test at Lord’s. R Sridhar believes that the Karnataka batsman preparation in-build up to Lord’s test was remarkable. He said “Rahul was the 4th opener going into the series, but the preparation has been extraordinary. I have been feeding him with a lot of throwdowns. He has found some way to score runs in England as an opener, even back in 2018 where he scored 100 in Oval”. R Sridhar added that “Not many openers succeed in England. Even the English openers average less than 35.”
R Sridhar said that KL Rahul has been preparing well for 40-50 days before the start of the series by analyzing the contact points and the bat angles. He believes that the preparation shows Rahul’s hunger to make a comeback in test cricket. R. Ashwin believes that Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul were brilliant in terms of front-foot stride. He said “Both KL Rahul and Rohit Sharma were batting excellently with a brilliant forward stride. KL’s extension has been top-notch. In fact, we can’t figure out whose extension is which.”
R Sridhar says that Rohit Sharma has worked on his defense.
Rohit Sharma is regarded as one of India’s best hard hitters and is also often known for playing his natural game irrespective of whether it’s a Test match, ODI, or T20. Ravichandran Ashwin was surprised by Rohit’s defensive batting. He said that “A word on Rohit’s defense this series. Rohit has played cover drive, pull shots etc. All those are glorious. When Rohit bats, we all know he oozes class. But coming to his defense, it feels as though batting is falling from his hand.”
R Ashwin asked R Sridhar on Rohit’s defense at Lord’s test, he replied that “The hands are held so close to the body, whether it’s leaving the ball or playing the ball. He had practiced that a lot.” He further added that “He practiced it so much that he started pain on his wrist”. R Sridhar believes that Rohit Sharma is a versatile opener and is willing to go through a pain barrier.
R Sridhar’s take on India’s bowling attack.
India‘s bowling in the second innings of the Lord’s test has been most astounding. The trio of Mohammad Siraj, Jasprit Bumrah, and Ishant Sharma gave India a major victory by bowling out England for 120 runs. Siraj heroics for picking 8 wickets in this test received appreciation across the cricketing world. India’s fielding coach was satisfied with their bowling effort. He said “We had a great bowling attack. Impressive with fast bowlers.”
R Sridhar was confident of the bowlers’ performance, given the condition at Lords’. He believes that England’s batting was not at its best at that point of time. However, he appreciated England’s batting. He says that “374 was good. We started really well. England batted really well too. Root was simply exceptional.”
R Sridhar also shared his thoughts on Bumrah’s barrage of bouncers to James Anderson. He said that “Definitely Bumrah is not that kind of a person, who will intentionally want to hurt someone. But a competitive fast bowler nonetheless”. About James Anderson, he believes that the veteran fast bowler is quite a chirpy fellow.
Bumrah and Shami’s brilliant partnership
Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammad Shami changed the course of the game for India with their scintillating partnership. The bowling duo put together a stand of 89-run for the 9th wicket in the second innings. Their partnership had boosted India’s chances of winning the second test by setting the target of 271 to England.
Ravichandran Ashwin believes that England made a blunder by allowing fast bowlers to get rid of tailenders. R Sridhar reveals that Ravi Shastri told him that if India set the target of 180 to England, they can put them under pressure. However, he said that Vikram Rathour was upset about it. R Sridhar says “Vikram Rathour, sitting next to us, got extremely upset. He was like day and night, I (he) have been given sidearms to the bowlers.”
Ashwin believes the reason behind Bumrah and Shami’s batting performance was the practice in the nets. He said that “I have never seen Shami with a bat and pad in a long time and results were there to be seen.” R Sridhar wittingly said that “Bowlers became obsessed with the batting practice that one day. Bumrah started bowling with his pads on. He was batting that much.”
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Hrishikesh Damodar
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