The Indian cricket team effected a remarkable turnaround on Day 5 of the second Test against England in London, snatching an improbable victory. The win, India’s only third at the iconic Lord’s ground, seemed out of the question when play started on Monday, with India only 154 runs ahead, only four wickets in hand. The situation became hopeless when India lost their last recognised batsman, Rishabh Pant, early on. England’s pacemen were bowling with great hostility and it seemed the home team would need to chase less than 200 in the fourth innings. The Indian pace duo of Mohammed Shami and Jasprit Bumrah, however, had different ideas — they started attacking the bowlers and boundaries began to flow. The home team, angered by Bumrah’s bouncers to James Anderson the previous day, made the tactical mistake of bowling too short, targeting the bodies of the two bowlers rather than the wickets. Shami and Bumrah were not intimidated, racking up 89 runs in only 20 overs.

India declared at 298/8, having added 117 runs in only 27.3 overs on Day 5. England were set 272 for victory, a difficult task against a quality pace attack. Sure enough, England lost their openers early, both of them unable to open their account. Captain Joe Root, who scored a magnificent 180 not out in the first innings to wrestle the advantage for his team, was the biggest obstacle between Virat Kohli’s men and victory — and when Bumrah dismissed him with an unplayable ball, the writing was on the wall. Only three English batsmen touched double figures while five had a duck against their names.

This Indian team has scored some remarkable wins away from home in the last few years, including at Brisbane, Melbourne and Johannesburg. This victory at Lord’s must rank among the very best. The win vindicated Kohli’s decision to field four fast bowlers in the playing eleven as, for the second Test in a row, the pacemen bowled out the home team twice. All 39 English wickets to fall to bowlers so far in the series have been taken by the pace bowlers. However, Kohli and Co. must keep their focus over the next three Tests, for this English team has the ability to hit back hard.