India vs England, 2nd Test: Chris Woakes delighted with match-winning role at Lord’s

Looking back 24 hours, Woakes said he would have liked to have absorbed the significance of maiden Test century, and that too at a hallowed venue.

Chris Woakes cut a very satisfied figure after claiming the Man-of-the-Match award at Lord’s on Sunday, for indeed it was a remarkable return to England’s Test XI.

Having been sidelined since his previous Test against Pakistan in the first week of June, Woakes slotted back into the lineup in the absence of Ben Stokes – who had to appear in court – and put his name on the Lord’s honours’ board for a third time. Woakes’ maiden Test century put the match out of India’s grasp on day three and made him the 10th player ever to score a century and take five or more wickets in a Test innings at Lord’s.

LORD’S TEST SCORECARD | DAY FOUR AS IT HAPPENED 

The feeling, said Woakes after England’s innings win over India, left him “delighted”.

“To win the Test inside four days when we lost a day and a half to rain is special. Emotions have run high all game, I suppose. Scoring a hundred and getting on the honours’ board is something that will stay with me forever,” said the 29-year-old. “Its sunk in a little bit more now.

INDIA vs ENGLAND, 2ND TEST MATCH HOME

Woakes had come out to bat in England’s first innings with the score 131/5. With Jonny Bairstow he fashioned a record sixth-wicket stand for England against India, and finished 137 not out when Joe Root declared at 396/7. Looking back 24 hours, Woakes said he would have liked to have absorbed the significance of maiden Test century, and that too at a hallowed venue.

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“Wish I had sunk it up more in the middle, kind of went by in a flash. I was a little bit nervous from 80 onwards, started wooshing outside off stump. Jonny calmed me down a bit, which is funny because usually I calm him down,” he said.

With the ball, Woakes took four wickets. On Saturday, during a fantastic spell, he extracted Virat Kohli and Ajinkya Rahane, after Joe Buttler dropped each of the batsmen. On Sunday, he added Hardik Pandya and Ishant Sharma, who was the last wicket of the match as England competed a crushing win.

Woakes felt good with the fact that he had bowled 16 overs during the Test.

“Just tried to get through certain bowling spells. Would’ve been nice to have a bit more red-ball cricket,” he said. “The wrist was behind the ball, did a bit of work on how I was holding the ball and it’s worked. Trying to get the ball out of Broad and Jimmy’s hands when it’s like that can be tricky.”