Credit: England Cricket
England captain Ben Stokes has revealed that his team’s premier pacer Jofra Archer took inspiration from former India skipper Sourav Ganguly to produce a ferocious bowling show in the third Test played at the iconic Lord’s. In England’s 22-run win, Archer played a vital role with the ball. The speedster, who was making his Test comeback after four-and-a-half years, grabbed five wickets in the match and played an instrumental role in the English side’s victory. He made in-form India opener Yashasvi Jaiswal his bunny in both innings of the match.
Following the sensational win against India, England skipper Stokes attended a presser and divulged that the England pacer drew motivation from Ganguly’s iconic NatWest final celebration. “I just said to him this morning, You know what today is, don’t you? You know that highlight package of India knocking off 300-odd back in the day with Ganguly? He thought that was the World Cup final. He thought that was six years today,” remarked Stokes in the post-match conference.
The England skipper also added, “I was like, no that World Cup that we won? He was like, ‘Oh, that one.’ He’s an absolute beauty, that boy, I just had the feeling today and that Rishabh Pant wicket was massive in a low run chase.”
Jofra Archer wrecked India’s batting unit in the second innings of the Lord’s Test
In the second innings of the Lord’s Test, Archer looked extraordinary with the ball and played the role of destroyer-in-chief. He bagged three wickets and his victims were Jaiswal, Rishabh Pant, and Washington Sundar. He was accompanied by Ben Stokes, who also picked up three scalps in the innings.
After losing the second Test by a colossal margin, England are back to winning ways. The home side will now look to be at their best in the fourth Test in Greater Manchester and beat the visitors to take an unassailable lead of 3-1.
