Lord's Test: The Sportskeeda Star of the Match

The first Test of the 4 match series between India and England ended yesterday with England cruising to a pummeling 196 run victory. In my run-up to the Test, I was not far away from the mark when I said that an English victory won’t be surprising. But I expected a draw and that was very much on the cards going into the last day. But the way James Anderson castled the 5 main players sent the Indian team packing to a bad defeat.

I had also vowed to contribute a piece after every match on who was the star of the match. But, some big feature pieces took my writing time away from this piece. So, now I am diving neck deep into this.

Let’s analyze the star performers of the match and then decide on who is going to be the Sportskeeda Star of the Match. It’ll be crisp.

The jury's MOM for his 202*

THE BATTING STARS

• Jonathan Trott‘s first inning 70 was made in difficult conditions and he rescued the inning along with KP. His effort was eventually overshadowed by the eventual man of the match but it was a typically gritty Trott inning for sure.
• Of course KP’s effort has been endorsed by the MOM jury. His 202 had 2 parts. The first half was made in circumspect fashion in keeping with the conditions and the situation. Whereas the second half was more typical of KP as England were looking to increase the lead. On the whole, a wholesome effort.
• Matt Prior also made 71 in the first inning. It was an effort to increase the 1st inning score and it was fast paced. A typical Prior inning.
• In the Indian reply, it was all about Dravid. It was a typical WALL inning where the entire team effort revolved around his solid presence at no.3. It had a lot of classy 4s. The cover drives, the on drives etc. so typical of Rahul. His knock was instrumental in India making the English bat again.
• In the English reply in the 2nd inning, it was the partnership between Broad and Prior that rescued England after an inspired morning session from India thanks to Ishant Sharma. But the way these 2 paced their partnership, gradually upping the ante and finally setting a really match winning or at-least safe target, was a great advertisement for the lower middle order’s talent. Prior got to a well deserved 100 and Broad showed his class with a 74 that had many straight batted shots that looked beautiful thanks to Broad’s height.
• In the Indian reply, Laxman tried to salvage the team’s cause with a solid show at no.3. But the way he got out to a lose pull shot really undid all the solid work that he did. His 56 was no more than an exercise in bettering his 2nd inning record, in the final analysis. In contrast, Raina’s effort was heartening because here was a youngster who put his hand up after all the established stars bit the dust. He was valiant while people around him were falling by the way side. But, he couldn’t save the match. Still, his 78 had many pleasing moments.

The key moment of the final day: James Anderson was the wrecker-in-chief

THE BOWLING STARS

• Zaheer Khan started off brilliantly by scalping the 2 openers. But, he could take no further part in the match. Very big blow indeed for the Indian side atleast till the 3rd Test.
• Praveen Kumar alias PK got his maiden 5 wkt haul with some terrific out-swing bowling. All his 5 wkts were either caught behind or trapped in front. This shows the extent of the quality of his swing. Great effort to join the Lords honor board in his first Test in England. He looks such a natural in English conditions.
• The English quickies shared the spoils in the Indian first inning. Broad was untiring and he scalped the openers and Sachin as well. He really impressed with his quality and spirit. Tremlett was obviously a factor due to his bounce. He had trouble in adjusting his line to the left handers. But the bounce was more than enough. Anderson cleaned up the tail.
• Ishant was the real star in the 2nd inning with his economy rate and some unplayable deliveries to get rid of KP, Bell, Trott and also Morgan. Then Prior and Broad took over to deny him more.
• Anderson was bang on in the final inning of the match and he scalped the big 5. Terrific example of rising to the occasion as the leader of the attack. He kept Prior busy behind the wickets. Broad returned to polish off the tail after he took the solitary wicket on the 4th evening.

THE SPORTSKEEDA STAR OF THE MATCH

After the detailed analysis of all the key performances, I’ve decided to share the award between Broad and Prior for their crucial 162 runs partnership on the 4th day that eventually made the difference. Prior also supported KP in building the 1st inning, kept wickets decently & Broad was a factor whenever he came onto bowl too.

So, Broad and Prior, it is