"Test cricket is about bringing theatre, Jofra did all of that...": Broad praises ex-teammate's fiery 1st session spell at Lord's

London [UK], July 14 (ANI): Former England pacer Stuart Broad on Monday hailed pacer Jofra Archer for his scorching spell during the first session of the final day during the third Test against India, which put the visitors on the verge of an embarrassing loss, saying that the speedster brought "theatre" to the field and is "thriving and enjoying" the ultimate form of the sport.
A brilliant two-wicket spell by Archer, including those of vice-captain Rishabh Pant and Washington Sundar, put India on verge of a series trail, as they tumbled to 112/8 in the run chase of 193 runs by the end of first session.
Speaking on air as quoted by Sky Sports, "Archer was amazing. The emotions he will be getting from bowling spells like this - running in, crowd roaring, Test match on the line - are great."
"Test match cricket is about bringing theatre, and Jofra did all of that. It was Test cricket led by a guy who has missed a lot of Test cricket."
"When he is wearing that England shirt you can tell how much he is thriving and enjoying the ultimate form of the game."
"He was having words with the batters and that may cost him a few quid!," he added.
Following the session, former Indian head coach Ravi Shastri termed Nitish's dismissal at stroke of lunch as a "killer blow".
"India would have been thinking, 'we have a 30-run partnership and if we can stretch this for another half an hour or so, then the deficit will be about 60'. I thought after a while, one of the two batters should have taken the attack a bit more," he added.
Playing his first Test in four years, Archer took 2/52 in the first innings, getting a dangerous Yashasvi Jaiswal on his third ball in his comeback over. He later on got Sundar as well.
He started his team's defence of 193 runs on a fantastic note, luring Jaiswal into attempting a pull shot, removing him for a seven-ball duck on day four. During the first session of the final day, just when KL Rahul and Pant were settling themselves, he sent Pant's off-stump cartwheeling for just nine runs and took a superb one-handed grab to remove Sundar minutes later, reducing India to 82/7. It was a 30-run stand between Ravindra Jadeja and Nitish Kumar Reddy that offered a slight resistance, but it did not last much long due to Chris Woakes, with the all-rounder getting Nitish at the stroke of lunch. (ANI)