Archer played a key role in England’s thrilling 22-run victory over India at Lord's.
England pacer Jofra Archer had a memorable return to Test cricket against India at Lord’s after an extended hiatus due to injury.
Archer was lethal with the ball, playing a key role in England’s thrilling 22-run victory over India at the iconic venue on Monday (July 14).
The right-arm quick made an instant impact on the second day by dismissing Yashasvi Jaiswal (13) cheaply, which proved to be a huge confidence booster.
“The first celebration was a bit emotional. It has been a long journey and I can’t tell you about the amount of keyboard warriors there have been over the past three years or so. I was going to try and not to be (too excited) but as soon as the catch was taken, that just went out of the window, the joy and the crowd. They gave me a huge lift. Every moment, it’s made all the hard work and the rehab worth it," Archer said while speaking to former teammate Stuart Broad on Sky Sports.
Asked about the sledging done by English fielders whenever an Indian batter took guard in the fourth innings, Archer said, “It was a collective effort. We came together as a group yesterday and said, sometimes we’re too nice."
“We go to other places and some teams are not as nice to us as we are to them so I guess we just tried to shift it. I don’t know if it gave us a bit more of a buzz in the field or not but we will keep it in the bank for the future!"
Archer concluded by saying he didn’t feel proud of giving a send-off to Rishabh Pant after dismissing the wicketkeeper-batter on Day 5.
“It wasn’t a proud moment (to give a send off to Pant). I just told him to charge that. He came down the track and that annoyed me a little bit so when the ball nipped down the slope, I was so grateful for that," Archer remarked.
Chasing 193 to win, India were bowled out for 170, but not before putting up a valiant fight led by Ravindra Jadeja. The all-rounder was left stranded on 61*, having nearly pulled off the heist.
With the last recognised batter in KL Rahul falling at 81/6, Jadeja stood firmly with the tail, dragging India within touching distance of victory.
Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj displayed admirable grit, but England bowlers eventually prevailed in closing out the game.
With this defeat, India conceded a 2-1 lead to England in the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy. The penultimate Test of the five-match series is slated to begin on July 23 at Old Trafford, Manchester.