India pacemen lord over hosts England

LONDON • India's cricketers, past and present, and the country's media yesterday's lauded their thrashing of England in the second Test at Lord's with fast bowlers coming in for special praise.

The visitors have generally struggled on their tours to England - this was only India's third win in 19 Tests at the "home of cricket".

Having been beaten badly at the same venue in 2018, Monday's victory, coming just a day after India's Independence Day, was extra sweet and would go down as one of their best, K.L. Rahul said.

India's pacemen impressed with both bat and ball as they defeated England by 151 runs, the hosts squandering a strong overnight position to collapse to 120 all out.

Opener Rahul, named man of the match, added: "I played with a lot of control and discipline.

"That was my plan and what I prepared for, and to go out there and execute it was really pleasing and satisfying.

"It's a very memorable innings for me, also because it turned out to be a match-winning one for us.

"A win in England and a win at Lord's is always special. It will be right up there for me and the team."

Rahul, who was part of the India team three years ago when they lost by an innings and 153 here, said: "We lost badly here in 2018, so coming back and winning will always be very special to me."

On going 1-0 up in the five-match series, captain Virat Kohli called it a "day late" independence celebration, vowing there would no let-up from his side.

Despite playing on opposition turf, India enjoyed plenty of vocal support at Lord's and the team "fed off that energy".

"It's the best feeling we can give the Indians here and back in India," said Kohli, looking to lead India to just a fourth Test series win in England after successes in 1971, 1986 and 2007.

"We have three matches to go and we will be just as intense."

The statement win drew plenty of praise from the sport's bigwigs and fellow countrymen.

"Fantastic win for India...what character and guts from the team ..each and every one ..such a pleasure to watch it from so close," India's cricket chief Sourav Ganguly, who was in London for the match, tweeted.

The Indian Express headlined its report as "India sledge hammer England" while The Times Of India said "India Believe In The Lord's!"

"That was some Test match! Enjoyed watching every moment of it. The resilience and grit that the team displayed in difficult situations is something that stood out for me. Very well played!" India cricket icon Sachin Tendulkar added.

The teams now head to Headingley for a third Test starting next Wednesday, but England skipper Joe Root was defiant, claiming the hosts would bounce back.

"There's still a lot of cricket to be played in this series," he said. "More than anything, we just need to stay calm and try not to panic, and make sure we're in a really good frame of mind when we turn up to Leeds.

AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE, REUTERS

India's winning margin in runs after England's late collapse.