Ishant Sharma claimed seven wickets to bowl India to a 95-run victory over England in the second Test at Lord’s on Monday, their first overseas win since 2011.
India’s second victory at the home of cricket and first since 1986 continued England’s miserable year after series defeats by Australia and Sri Lanka.
Resuming at 105 for four in pursuit of 319, Joe Root and Moeen Ali survived until the final ball before lunch when the latter fell to Ishant.
The willowy right-armer claimed four more wickets after the break as England’s batsmen capitulated in the face of India’s short-pitched barrage and were bowled out for 223, putting the visitors 1-0 up in the five-match series.
Ishant finished with career-best figures of 7 for 74, including five wickets in 33 balls.
Root and Moeen had earlier given hope of an unlikely home victory, having come together with England in trouble at 72 for four midway through Sunday’s evening session.
They added a further 68 runs on Monday morning before Moeen, who batted for a day to nearly save the second Test against Sri Lanka at Headingley last month, fell last to a brute of a delivery from Ishant which forced him to fend off to Cheteshwar Pujara at short leg.
Root and Matt Prior came out after lunch bristling with intent, hitting 20 runs in the first two overs after play resumed as Mohammed Shami and Ishant offered a procession of short balls.
Captain MS Dhoni’s plan paid dividends shortly afterwards, however, when Prior, who has endured a poor run both behind the stumps and with the bat, hooked Ishant to Murali Vijay at deep mid-wicket for 12.
Ben Stokes completed a pair in the match, mis-hitting Ishant to Pujara at mid-on and Root went the same over for 66, caught by Stuart Binny after another poor hook shot.
Ishant claimed his fifth victim of the day and seventh of the innings when he had Stuart Broad caught down the legside by Dhoni.
James Anderson was last to fall, run out by Ravindra Jadeja.
Ishant, the tall right-arm seamer, meanwhile needed more than a little convincing to bowl short.
His breathtaking effort included a spell of five wickets in eight overs, with England’s batsmen time and again tempted to take on anything short of a length.
He was initially was reluctant to bowl short on the final afternoon, but Dhoni insisted, and Ishant reaped the rewards, getting rid of Moeen Ali with a brute of ball aimed at his body, while Matt Prior, Ben Stokes and Joe Root all fell attempting to hook.
“To start with it was a bit difficult to convince him, so the last two overs when he came in, I just told him to bowl short,” Dhoni said. “I set a field to him so that he doesn’t even think of bowling up, so that was the strategy – give him a field where he is forced to bowl the kind of length I want him to bowl.
“It worked, and once he got Moeen’s wicket I think he was eager enough to try that line for a consistent period of time.”
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