Published: Jul 08, 2025, 11:30 PM (IST)
Edited: Jul 08, 2025, 11:30 PM (IST)
Ahead of this week’s Lord’s Test between India and England, former India coach Ravi Shastri praised the influence Virat Kohli had as captain during their previous encounter at the venue in 2021.
India defeated England by 151 runs in that match, as the pace quartet of Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, Mohammed Shami, and Ishant Sharma dismantled England’s batting lineup in just 52 overs on a thrilling final day.
Shastri praised Kohli for instilling the right mindset in the team during his captaincy. “Off the field and on the field, (his personality) is like chalk and cheese. Off it, he is a mellow, chilled guy but on it, he is a beast. He is at you, he is at your throat, he’ll look you in the eye, and play hard cricket.” he said on Sky Sports.
“We had a chat in the morning (of Day 5) and all we said ‘try and get England to chase 170, and we’re winning this.’ We knew if give them 170-180 (to chase) we could win this game with the attack we had. We had an excellent attack.”
Although much of the British press had written them off, Shastri said the 89-run partnership between tailenders Bumrah and Shami sparked belief in the team, with Kohli then leading them to a memorable win.
“Every newspaper had England as favourites. I used to pick up the papers in the morning and on the bus, I read all of this. We reach the ground and the last-wicket partnership adds another 100. That lifted the dressing room.” he said
“It was COVID time, so the long room (at Lord’s) was empty. When Bumrah and Shami came back, we made a corridor for them and welcomed them back. There and then, I knew Kohli is going to tell them something when they go out into the huddle.” he said
‘That’s when he said: Unleash hell,” Shastri added.
