Archer makes a fiery comeback, but Bumrah's mastery steals the show at Lord's

When you’ve had to wait four and a half years between games of Test cricket, you really don’t want to wait much longer to take your first wicket.

In the end, Jofra Archer needed just three balls. Thrust into the fray immediately, he bowled England’s second over, charging in from the Pavilion End – it went about as perfectly as anyone could have dreamed.

Archer’s triumphant return at Lord’s

The standout moment was of course that first wicket back. One ball after an airy play and miss outside his off stump, Yashasvi Jaiswal was squared up by an 89mph delivery that took the edge of his bat and flew to Harry Brook in the slips.

In an instant the Lord’s crowd noise was switched from hubbub to roar, the most overjoyed man in the ground, Archer, seemingly so caught up in the excitement that all he could do was charge to square leg and embrace with an enthusiasm that slightly surprised Shoaib Bashir.

If the wicket was the over’s lede then buried a little deeper in the copy was an added bonus for England – the pace. Archer’s fourth ball was over 93 mph, the over – a wicket maiden – averaged a fraction under 90 mph. But this was not simply raw pace with no guile, the perfect seam position on display, almost as alluring as all that speed.

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There would be no further breakthrough for Archer, but there was no let up in menace, his first five-over spell going for just 16 runs, his second – split between two ends – going for just six.

It was part of a disciplined bowling effort from England, on a pitch where winkling out wickets was not always easy, they kept the pressure on India’s high-flying top order to leave the match fascinatingly poised at 145/3 by the close.

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Root’s record-breaking catch

In between there was a landmark 211th catch in the field from Joe Root – surpassing Rahul Dravid for the overall record in Tests – achieved with an effort worthy of the milestone, diving to his left and plucking the ball millimetres from the turf with his left hand. Jamie Smith got to show off his wicketkeeping expertise too, taking the vital wicket of Shubman Gill caught behind while standing up to the stumps to Chris Woakes.

Meanwhile for India KL Rahul remained an oasis of calm, he was 53 not out by the close, seemingly unflappable as his quietly excellent series continues.

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Bumrah’s masterclass defines the day

However for all that the return of Archer will be seen to define this day, on the other side of this contest one man showed exactly what the benchmark is to be among the best in the world.

Once again Jasprit Bumrah was a class above the rest, marching straight from his second Test rest onto the Lord’s honours board, his five-wicket haul preventing England from truly cashing in having decided to bat.

There was little ‘rabbit pie’ being eaten here either. Harry Brook, Joe Root and Ben Stokes were his first three victims, among as illustrious a trio as there is in world cricket – all bowled for good measure too. Woakes – a man with a Test century on this very ground – and Archer would complete the quintet.

On a pitch where every other bowler has struggled to consistently threaten, Bumrah was seemingly playing in another game – he remains the one real point of difference between these two otherwise fairly evenly matched sides.

In Day Two’s tale of two pacemen, one man may well go home with all the headlines, but it is the other whose 5/74 will go down as perhaps the least celebrated reminder of his place among the game’s greats.