Follow UsIndia started to dream of a famous win at Lord’s when off-spinner Washington Sundar ran through the England middle-order, with figures of 4/22. Washington gave a new life to the dying art of off-spin, with a spectacular spell, where he beat Joe Root’s sweep, and then dismissed Ben Stokes to give India a real chance.
In the aftermath of that spell, India required 193 runs for a win at Lord’s, to take the series to 2-1. While they might be 58/4, the Tamil Nadu all-rounder made a bold statement that India will win easily, just after lunch.
"Definitely India winning, probably just after lunch…,” Washington told Sky Sports.
"We are sitting pretty and we will come out positive. We have some solid batters in the dressing room.
"We have all day but there needs to be the perfect plan. It is exciting in every way. Winning the Lord's Test would be amazing."
On his spell, Washington admitted that he came out with ‘solid plans’, which helped him bowl with such ease.
"One of the best days with the ball for me, especially outside of India. But yes, I definitely had some solid plans coming into this Test match and really wanted to execute them both in the first and second innings," he explained.
Towards the last half an hour of day four’s play, tempers started flaring, as England opener Ben Duckett gave it back to Indian skipper Shubman Gill. Shortly after, Brydon Carse’s brilliant in-ducker saw the end of Gill’s purple patch, as the Indian skipper got out for six off nine balls.
Due to the intensity and the privilege of playing at Lord’s, Washington revealed that a win from here will be very special for India, downplaying bad blood between the two sides.
"A win as a team at Lord's would be very, very special for us. It would be amazing. I'm sure for you lot as well. It's going to be exciting tomorrow. I mean, especially the last 15-20 minutes was quite interesting today," he noted, referring to the increased intensity at the close of play.
"I would say the aggression is always inside of us in both dressing rooms. It's just that there was an incident that happened and it sort of came out as well last evening (Day 3). And it did come out quite a bit today as well. It definitely does fuel energy. I mean, it's a sport and everyone is quite aggressive and quite intense in their own ways. No matter the sport, if you're an athlete, it's a common factor," he concluded.