IND vs ENG 2021: Wasim Jaffer trolls Michael Vaughan for predicting a “lovely day for bowling” at Lord’s

Wasim Jaffer once again trolled his social-media nemesis Michael Vaughan on Thursday. The former England captain, in his customary pre-match prediction, had said it would be a “lovely” first day for bowlers at Lord’s.

However, put in to bat, India piled on 276 runs in the alloted 90 overs at the cost of just three wickets. England’s bowlers, despite the conditions expected to be tailor-made for them, struggled against the resolute and disciplined visitors.

Wasim Jaffer took the opportunity to post a photo of West Indies’ Chris Gayle with the famous bell at Eden Gardens in the background. He implied the Hindi slang “Ghanta”, which can be roughly translated to the phrase “yeah, right!” to take a witty dig at Michael Vaughan.

This tweet followed a similar exchange between the two during the first Test. Michael Vaughan had predicted the penultimate day of the game to be “perfect” for batting. But Jasprit Bumrah washed away those hopes with a stunning five-wicket haul in the second innings.

Brilliant display by Indians preceded Wasim Jaffer’s tweet

Wasim Jaffer’s confident teasing of Michael Vaughan was made possible only by some stunning on-field efforts by Team India. On Thursday, opener KL Rahul once again led the charge with a masterful 127 not out off 248 deliveries. He was well-supported by Rohit Sharma’s well-timed 145-ball 83.

Skipper Virat Kohli also contributed with a decent 42 but looked nowhere near his best. Meanwhile, Cheteshwar Pujara failed once again and Ajinkya Rahane survived 22 deliveries at the stroke of stumps to remain unbeaten at 9.

James Anderson was the pick of the bowlers for the umpteenth time in his career. The 39-year-old picked up two wickets, dismissing Sharma with a beautiful wobbled-seam ball and Pujara with an away-swinger. Ollie Robinson was disciplined too and was rewarded with the prized scalp of Kohli just five overs before stumps.