Following the record win in Birmingham on Sunday, the caravan has now moved to Lord’s for the third Test, where both teams will look to seize the series lead.
With just a three-day gap between matches, India held an optional training session on Tuesday, highlighted by the unveiling of the Lord’s pitch.
In a report by the Times of India, the Lord’s pitch looked “lush and green,” indicating there will be plenty on offer for the seam bowlers in the match, which will begin on Thursday, July 10. The team management had a quick look at the surface, which was followed by an intense chat between Gautam Gambhir and his other coaching staff. “The intensity of the chat, combined with the visibly green top, suggests that India’s strategy may revolve around exploiting any assistance for their quicks,” the report read.
Batting coach Sitanshu Kotak, who spoke to the media on Tuesday, admitted the fast bowlers will likely dictate the proceedings at the Lord’s. “Pitch is very green. We will get an idea after they cut the grass tomorrow. Can expect help for bowlers… mindset will be key for the batters,” he said.
In the wake of the impressive show at Edgbaston last week, Kotak showed confidence in the Indian batters in negating England’s pace threat, which is likely to be bolstered with the addition of Jofra Archer. “Indian batters are very skilled. Without doing anything extra, they are scoring close to four,” he said.
No Gill, Pant; Bumrah’s warning to England
With Tuesday’s training session being optional, it did not see full attendance, as Shubman Gill, Rishabh Pant, Washington Sundar, Mohammed Siraj, Akash Deep, KL Rahul, and Yashasvi Jaiswal skipped their training. The players had only left Birmingham for London by bus on Monday and decided not to attend the training session the following day.
However, All eyes were on Bumrah, who is all set to return to the playing XI after the management decided to rest him for the Birmingham match. In a report by RevSportz, the India fast bowler was full throttle for 45 minutes at the nets, which was followed by a brief chat with Gambhir before he headed for batting practice.
Bumrah has 42 wickets to his name on English soil, at 26.47 with three five-wicket hauls, one of which came in the series opener in Leeds last month. The 31-year-old’s return to the XI could mean more pressure on the English batter, who could likely face the combination of Bumrah, Akash and Siraj on the Lord’s green top. The latter two had troubled the home team, picking 16 of the 20 wickets in the previous game, six of which came with the new ball.