Rahul and Pant’s partnership is absolutely critical for India’s chase at Lord’s: Kumble

London: Former India spinner Anil Kumble stressed that the partnership between KL Rahul and Rishabh Pant is really crucial to India’s hopes of chasing down the target on a tricky fifth-day pitch at Lord’s.

After off-spin bowling all-rounder Washington Sundar used his drift and accuracy well to pick a brilliant 4-22 and end England’s second innings at 192 in 62.1 overs, India embarked on a chase of 193 to go 2-1 up in the five-match series.

But in the last 30 minutes of the day’s play, England picked up three wickets to tilt the game in their favour ahead of day five. India still have first-innings centurion Rahul unbeaten on 33 and they would want him to stay till the end to knock off the remaining 135 runs.

“The duo of KL Rahul and Rishabh Pant – both of them are going to be really important. Their partnership is absolutely critical. The way they batted in the first innings was impressive, but they can’t afford any indecision this time. India will need that partnership tomorrow. If one of them gets out early, the pressure on the other will be massive. I feel it comes down to KL Rahul, Rishabh Pant, and Ravindra Jadeja. For England to win this, they will need to get both KL Rahul and Rishabh Pant early – otherwise, the pressure shifts to their bowlers against India’s lower order,” Kumble said on JioHotstar.

Kumble further spoke about the importance of Rahul’s experience and composure as India eye stability on Day 5. “KL Rahul is going to be the main man. If India are to go past this total tomorrow, he needs to be there till the end – not just give India a good start. Early on, I thought he looked a bit like Joe Root, reaching out to the ball, and that’s when there was a chance offered to Chris Woakes.

“He was lucky to be dropped. But from that moment on, he started waiting for the ball to come onto him, and once he did that, he looked the part – just like he did in the first innings. This is going to be a very important knock. If India have to cross the line, KL Rahul will have to play a major role.”

India were brilliant at targeting the stumps via impressive new ball spells from the fast bowlers. Sundar then took over to star with the softened old ball and got it to drift and spin for deceiving batters like Joe Root, Ben Stokes and Jamie Smith.

Mohammed Siraj and Jasprit Bumrah took two wickets each, while Nitish Kumar Reddy and Akash Deep had a scalp each, as India did an excellent job of not allowing England’s lower order to launch a fightback.

Kumble went on to praise India’s collective effort with the ball, saying, “India’s performance with the ball was fantastic. I thought they consistently bowled in the right areas – they understood the importance of hitting the surface, especially with limited swing on offer. Apart from Jasprit Bumrah, who was getting the ball to move a bit, there wasn’t much help for the bowlers. Yet, India stuck to their task. Mohammed Siraj was exceptional – charging in with great intensity and keeping the batters honest.

“But Washington Sundar stood out during that spell, picking up four key wickets – including top-quality players like Joe Root, Ben Stokes, and Jamie Smith. And then Bumrah wrapped things up at the end. As a collective, India bowled exceptionally well – there’s really nothing to fault in that performance. A target of 192 is one the batters would’ve backed themselves to chase,” he said.

However, while reflecting on the momentum shift in favour of England at Lord’s, Kumble said there is no possibility for a draw.

On the fifth and final day at Lord’s, India require 135 runs to win while England need six wickets to clinch the Test.

“No draw, that’s for sure. That was a possibility, I guess, after Day 3 – but certainly not anymore. There’s been a lot of drama, and what this Test match has shown is that both teams have, at different points, let go and then pulled it back. It’s been a proper seesaw. India had a great chance – they did really well to restrict England to 192 and then got to 41 for 1.

“I thought Yashasvi Jaiswal played a very poor shot early in his innings, but Karun Nair and KL Rahul batted well to get to that 41. Then once Karun got out and Shubman Gill followed, it’s now slightly tilted back in England’s favour. India will need a massive partnership from KL Rahul and Rishabh Pant tomorrow,” the former spinner said.

IANS