London [UK], July 13 : India all-rounder Washington Sundar joined the elite company after tantalising England by weaving magic with his spin craft on the fourth day of the third Test during his maiden appearance at the 'Home of Cricket', Lord's on Sunday.
Sundar cleaned up England's mainstays and roared to memorable figures of 4/22 in 12.1 overs to enter a special club. He joined Bishan Singh Bedi, Bhagwath Chandrasekhar, Vinoo Mankad, and Srinivas Venkataraghavan to become just the fifth Indian spinner to take four wickets or more in a Test at Lord's.
The 25-year-old rattled stumps on all four occasions and breezed past the 100 international wickets landmark, adding another feather to his cap. Sundar boasts 30 wickets in 10 Tests, 24 in 23 ODIs and 48 in 54 T20Is.
Throughout the second session, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj and Akash Deep barreled in blistering deliveries to induce false shots, but returned unrewarded. With India desperate for wickets, Sundar trapped England's top stars in his ploy to force the hosts to bundle out on 192.
England remained unperturbed with its captain, Ben Stokes, and talismanic batter Joe Root at the crease, steadily steering the hosts to a wicketless session. With the partnership standing at 67, threatening India's position of dominance, Sundar took the brunt on his shoulders and put a treat for the spectators.
The sweep shot came back to haunt England after Sundar exploited the rough and managed to sneak the ball past Root's swinging bat. He rattled the exposed leg stump to regain control. As Root returned on 40(96), Jamie Smith joined hands with Stokes to stitch England's return.
The in-form Smith lasted just 14 balls after Sundar intensified the pressure. He made Smith rush to defend the ball. Smith played for the turn, but the ball kept straight and crashed into the stumps, forcing the 23-year-old to return cheaply on 8(14).
Sundar continued to prosper and rattle stumps in the final session. With Stokes tussling for control against the ball tweakers, the 25-year-old ensured he walked back to the dressing room in agony.
He found a sublime in-drift around the wicket to go past Stokes' (33) defence and allow the ball to crash into the stumps. Sundar completed his four-wicket haul by cleaning up Shoaib Bashir, who danced around the crease as the ball clattered into the stumps.
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