Bhuvneshwar Kumar picked 6/82 in the first innings. (Source: Reuters)
Bhuvneshwar Kumar’s fantastic debut at Lord’s saw him became the 12th Indian bowler to take five or more wickets in a Test innings at the iconic cricket ground. His match-winning tally of 6/82 in the first innings against England in 2014 also earned him a place on the Honours Board at Lord’s. Incidentally, his career-best figures which came in his eighth Test was also the third time an India bowler had taken six wickets in a Test at Lord’s after Amar Singh (6/35 in 1936) and left-arm spinner Bishan Bedi (6/223in 1974). India’s victory at Lord’s under the leadership of MS Dhoni had several notable contributors- Ajinkya Rahane with the bat, Ishant Sharma’s seven-wicket haul in the second innings. But before all of it came Bhuvi’s brilliance which set the platform for India’s first win at the venue in 28 years.
6/82 (1st inn), Lord’s, 2011
In the second Test of the Pataudi Trophy 2014, England won the toss and opted to field first. Ajinkya Rahane’s fighting 103 guided the visitors to a respectable total of 295. Bhuveneshwar Kumar contributed with the bat as well scoring a crucial 36 of 84.
But 295 was not a good enough total and Dhoni needed early breakthroughs to stop the match from slipping away from his grasp. On came Bhuvi and in his opening burst dismissed England openers – Alastair Cook and Sam Robson early. He later came back in the second spell to get rid of Ian Bell to reduce England to 70/3. Making judicious use of the late movement on offer, Kumar beat the batsmen consistently and found the edge regularly to dismiss the batsmen caught behind.
However, Gary Ballance’s century kept England in the hunt but he too was dismissed by Kumar, caught behind. Incidentally, all the top four batsmen were dismissed caught behind. Ben Stokes and Stuart Broad were his other two scalps as England were wrapped up for 319 with a slender lead of 24 runs. India batted well to post 342 in the second innings and then bowled out England for 223 to triumph by 95 runs. With 19 wickets in the series, Bhuvneshwar Kumar was India’s most successful bowler and in the upcoming series, his presence will be sorely missed.
India bowlers with five or more wickets in a Test innings at Lord’s-
Amar Singh- 6/35 in 1936
Lala Amarnath- 5/118 in 1946
Vinoo Mankad- 5/196 in 1952
Ramakant Desai- 5/89 in 1957
B Chandrasekhar- 5/127 in 1967
Bishan Bedi- 6/223 in 1974
Kapil Dev- 5/125 in 1982
Chetan Sharma- 5/64 in 1986
Venkatesh Prasad- 5/76 in 1996
RP Singh- 5/59 in 2007
Praveen Kumar- 5/106 in 2011
Bhuvneshwar Kumar- 6/82 in 2014
Ishant Sharma- 7/74 in 2014