Ravi Shastri, India's former head coach, has pointed to two turning points which, according to him, turned the tables of the third Test at Lord's firmly in England's direction.
England beat India by a narrow 22-run margin to lead the five-match series 2-1 after taking a modest 193-run target into defense and restricting the visitors to 170.
Sharing his insights on The ICC Review, Shastri identified Rishabh Pant's run-out in the first innings and Karun Nair's second-innings dismissal as turning points.
"The turning point for me in this Test match was, first of all, Rishabh Pant's dismissal (in the first innings)," Shastri said.
He then complemented England skipper Ben Stokes for his quick thinking, which resulted in Pant's vital dismissal on the stroke of lunch on Day 3 as the batter was on 74.
"Ben Stokes… sheer presence of mind to play at the correct end and get away with it on the stroke of lunch. Because India would have established a lead and they were in the box seat," Shastri noted.
In the second innings, India was settling in at 41 for one, with Karun Nair and KL Rahul on the crease. But Nair miscued a delivery from pacer Brydon Carse, not wanting to give a shot, and was leg before trapped. The error came at a costly price.
"With all that said, again at 40/1 (in the second innings), I believed that was a huge concentration lapse by Karun Nair to leave a straight ball, a nothing ball, to leave it and provide the key for England. I believed that the timing of that wicket reversed things," Shastri said.
After Nair's dismissal, India disintegrated from 42 for two to 82 for seven, letting England regain dominance.
Looking back on the batting performance, Shastri chastised the Indian top-order for failing to show resilience at the end of Day 4.
"Because you watched when Siraj was batting, when Bumrah was batting, when Jadeja was batting, once the ball aged to 40 overs, they barely put a foot out of place. They were so good in defence and to take that target down at lunch, 82 to win, you thought within the next 10 minutes it would be done and dusted. To take that 82 or 83 down to 22 was an enormous effort."
"So it just goes to show that (if) the top order had just been a little tougher and mentally stronger on Day 4, towards the end, this game would have been India's," he summed up.
In spite of the defeat, Shastri was positive about India's future, believing in the team's ability to make a comeback. He also dwelt on how the ongoing match was reminiscent of the 2021 Lord's Test—albeit with opposite results.
"It (the Lord's Test) made me think so much about the 2021 Test match (at the Lord's when Shastri was the head coach). Only in that case, it was India who took the first turn with the bat. Scores were also quite similar, 300, 300 and then a second-innings collapse. At that time, India won. This time, it was England."
In the days ahead, he suggested the possibility of a nail-biting series conclusion.
"But an interesting series and two more to come. Anything is possible. India can recover immediately and if that is the case, The Oval (last Test) will be a thriller."
Shastri also thought about lost chances, and he said India could have dominated the series till now with some luck.
"Fifteen days in the series, it's been edge-of-your-seat stuff. And sometimes I feel India might have been 3-0 ahead. A bit of luck, India might have been 3-0 ahead." The second Test starts July 23 in Manchester.
Shastri didn't mince words in praising England's resilience and Stokes' captaincy, particularly under high-pressure situations.
"You have to credit England. When the pressure was on, at the times they took it. And when they perceived an opening in the door, they just knocked their door down. There was barely anything on that surface, and if you had lost two wickets fewer the day before I believe India would have chased that down."
By the end of Day 4, India were already tottering at 58 for four in chase of 193.
Describing Ben Stokes' contribution, Shastri applauded the England captain's ferocious last-day performance.
"Stokes bowling such spells, I knew something was brewing at Edgbaston (second Test) because he had something in the back of his mind. He wanted gas in the tank for Lord's and he proved it on the final day. Eight overs, nine-over spells. At one point, 10 overs towards the end to finish it off for England," he said.
Stokes took the lead, bowling 24 overs—most among any England bowler—and picking up three wickets, including the significant one of KL Rahul.
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