New Delhi: Experience matters-especially when an experienced player knows how to control the tempo in high pressure situations. On the last day of the second Test in Edgbaston, India chased a historic victory, a subtle but important moment played during the morning session.India was looking to break the partnership between Ben Stokes and Jamie Smith when Ravindra Jadeja was handed over the ball for the final before lunch. He held a brief discussion with Captain Shubman Gill, and then cleverly bowled his six delivery in 100 seconds, not allowing Smith to settle at the crease. Rapid ending meant that India had another time before the lunch break.As per the plan, Gill threw the ball to Washington Sundar for the bonus – a calculation gambling that was paid immediately.At the final delivery before lunch, Sundar removed England captain Ben Stokes, causing the hosts to a big shock. Stokes’s dismissal left England at 153/6, which required only four more wickets to seal its first Test victory in Edgbaston.After the wicket, Jadeja saw a high-ferving gill-a moment that expressed the plan and execution behind the dismissal.Watch: Generally on unpredictable English Day, heavy cloud cover and intermittent rain gave way to bright sunlight. Play began after a delay of 1 hour 40 minutes, dropping India from England with 80 overs, which started the day for 3 pm, chasing an impossible 608.Prasad Krishna opened bowling with Akash Deep, who stood outside in the morning session. For the first time in high scoring tests, the pitch showed the symptoms of wear, and the sky drawn the sharp seam movement from the deep surface. Surprisingly, Mohammad Sirj did not share a new ball with him.Akash hit deep in his second over, cutting the batsman as cleaning Oli Pope. In his next over, he sent a vicious nip-jaker down, collided with a crack and trapped the Harry Brook LBW-a close delivery that left England.With that mantra, the sky deep probability showed his place for the Lord’s testing, showing excellent control with the new ball. Krishna did not take a wicket, but played a valuable holding role from the other end.
Jadeja was brought to the attack after the first hour and immediately started harassing the batsmen with a turn. Unlike Headingley, Jadeja reduced its speed and extracted more spin – a smart strategic Twicke. Both Stokes and Smith were tested, but the England captain scored some important runs, killing four borders from Sirj, including an excellent bridge and an additional cover drive.Realizing the futility of endless rescue, Stokes resorted to making Jadeja wider. However, as soon as England was building a stand, Sundar’s final came back firmly in India’s favor before lunch.At the top of day 5, only two results were on the card: one India victory or rain-helped draw. England, who had conducted only one test in the last three years, felt that any expectation to chase the target on a large scale has been abandoned.Now, with only four wickets standing and speed in India’s favor, a historic Edgbaston win-and a series-tier-tier distance.
