Indian pacer Mohammed Shami brought up his second
half-century in Test cricket, smashing an unbeaten 52 from 70 deliveries as he,
and Jasprit Bumrah, helped India set England a competitive target of 272 runs
to win on the Day 5 of the second Test on Monday.

Starting the day at 181/6, much of India’s
hopes for a substantial total rested on wicketkeeper-batsman Rishabh Pant’s
shoulders. However, the 23-year-old perished early in the day, falling to Ollie
Robinson, who also dismissed Ishant Sharma shortly after as India were staring
down the barrel at 209/8.

But Shami and Bumrah put on a memorable performance,
stitching an 85-run partnership – India’s highest for the ninth wicket at Lord’s
– to defy the odds and put India in the driver’s seat. The two saw out an
initial hostile reception from the English pacers, who peppered the two with short
deliveries, before turning on the style to score some sumptuous boundaries.

While Bumrah struck three fours in his
innings, Shami found the fence five times and smoked one massive six off Moeen
Ali to bring up his half-century. Shami particularly targeted the off-spinner,
hitting him for three boundaries as well, one of which came right before the six.

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He waited for Ali to get a few overs under
his belt before unleashing his strokes. The 3-0year-old slogged Ali for a
boundary at mid-wicket, before dancing down the track to dispatch the ball a
distance of 92m to bring up his second Test fifty.

Watch the monster-hit here:

Shami’s first Test fifty also came in
England. He hit an unbeaten 51 in the first innings of the first Test at Trent
Bridge, Nottingham during the 2014 tour, helping India get to a 457-run total.
The match ended in a draw as India went on to lose the series 1-3.