India registered a memorable win at The Oval on Monday to take a 2-1 lead in the ongoing five-match Test series against England. It was also their first win at The Oval after 50 years. There were many memorable moments in the match and the visitors scripted quite the comeback to win the match. Every player chipped in with valuable contributions to make this win possible but there were some key performances without which this spectacular victory wouldn’t have been possible. Here, we shall take a look at the main architects of this memorable Indian win:
Shardul Thakur
This was Thakur’s first match of the series and only the fourth of his Test career. Yet, nobody could stop him from making an instant impact on the match. Firstly, it was his whirlwind knock of 58 that helped India to a total of 191 in the first innings and then he played yet another vital knock of 60 in the third innings of the match.
Shardul Thakur with his second half-century of the Test. What a game-changer he has been for India ?
?: Sony Sportspic.twitter.com/En5DdEa7sc
— The Field (@thefield_in) September 5, 2021
Apart from that, Thakur also claimed three wickets in the match which includes the prized scalp of the England captain Joe Root on the final day. He was truly an impact maker with both bat and ball, without whom this victory wouldn’t have been possible for India.
Rohit Sharma
The Indian batting stalwart was dismissed for a meagre score of 11 in the first innings of the match but he made his presence felt in the second outing as he scored a classy century to help India overhaul England’s first innings lead of 99 runs.
First century outside India for the Hitman! ?
He gets there with a monster six over long on!Tune into Sony Six (ENG), Sony Ten 3 (HIN), Sony Ten 4 (TAM, TEL) & SonyLIV (https://t.co/AwcwLCPFGm ) now! ?#ENGvINDOnlyOnSonyTen #BackOurBoys #RohitSharma pic.twitter.com/4HDSE276Ow
— Sony Sports (@SonySportsIndia) September 4, 2021
Rohit was very watchful in the first half of his innings and took 145 deliveries to score his first 50 runs. However, he changed gears once India had reached a safe score and scored his next 50 runs in just 60 balls. Overall, he scored 127 runs and was India’s highest scorer in their second innings. The 34-year-old was also adjudged the ‘Player of the Match’ for his fabulous batting effort.
Jasprit Bumrah
When you look at the scorecard, you will see only four wickets to Bumrah’s name in the match. But if you have watched the match, you know how he turned the match around completely on the final day.
Rate this ball by Jasprit Bumrah on 10.#IndvsEng pic.twitter.com/kvXaaeITKC
— CricketNext (@cricketnext) September 6, 2021
The Indian pacer produced a masterclass post lunch on Day 5 as he rattled the English batting unit with his pace, reverse swing and toe-crushing yorkers. He produced one of the best spells ever by an Indian on English soil as he registered figures of 6-3-6-2 during that post lunch spell. The wickets he claimed were that of Ollie Pope and Jonny Bairstow, both of whom had performed well for England in the first innings. The clip of Bairstow’s dismissal in particular went quite viral on social media, as Bumrah completely cleaned him up with his trademark yorker.
