India were put in the driver’s seat by Mohammed Shami and Jasprit Bumrah as they handled a potent English bowling line-up skillfully to extend India’s lead to 259 at lunch on the fifth and final day of the second Test against England.

Shami remained unbeaten on 56* off 70 balls and Bumrah was 34 not out off 64 balls. The duo not only strung together an 89-run partnership but also left the hosts frustrated with their unlikely batting performance.

Apart from the Indian cricket team captain Virat Kohli enjoying the duo’s batting performance, cricket fans and analysts, too, enjoyed the partnership.

“Waah ! Mazaa aa gaya. What a wonderful partnership between Shami and Bumrah. They may not have the best of techniques but from experience i Can say that bowlers have a big heart,” former India batsman VVS Laxman tweeted.

Shami hit a towering maximum off Moeen Ali to notch up his second Test fifty. Along with Bumrah, he hit the loose balls and even occasionally drove the ball through the offside. 

This was also India’s highest ninth-wicket stand in a Test match in England.

Earlier, Ishant Sharma (16) also made a nice little contribution as the tail-enders between them accumulated 98 runs, something that India have been missing before the start of the series.

At the start of the fifth day, Pant once again charged down the track to smash James Anderson (25-6-49-0) through the covers but Ollie Robinson (16-6-41-2) bowled a beautiful delivery that moved late to induce an outside edge into the keeper’s gloves.

Ishant got a streaky boundary off Anderson but Robinson’s knuckleball caught him plumb in front to make it 209/8 when Bumrah joined Shami.

With numbers 9 and 10 out at the crease, England captain Joe Root decided to spread the field anticipating a lot of aerial shots from the duo but the Indian played proper cricketing shots.

With Mark Wood bowling with deep point and deep mid-wicket, the singles came easily and both of them showed copybook forward defence to Moeen, someone who has troubled the top-order regularly.

They were peppered with a few short balls and Bumrah also got hit on the helmet by Wood but he manfully carried on concentrating even more.

Their 50-run stand was applauded generously by the Lord’s crowd, mostly Indians but it was their change room that gave them a standing ovation.

The highlight was Bumrah’s defence and Shami’s attack as they piled on the misery on the English bowlers.