Virat would’ve won it: Harmison’s stinging take on India’s Lord’s collapse

Dubai: India had more hundreds, more wickets, and arguably the better bowling unit.

But England had belief — and former pacer Steve Harmison believes that’s exactly what Virat Kohli would have brought to the visitors’ failed fourth-innings chase at Lord’s.

The five-match Test series is now 2-1 in England’s, but India could level the series in the fourth Test at Manchester, which begins on Wednesday after three intense Tests of seesawing cricket. After both teams posted identical scores of 387 in the first innings, India’s spirited bowling display saw England skittled out for 192, leaving a modest target of 193.

But what followed stunned even India’s most optimistic fans. England’s pacers, led by Jofra Archer and captain Ben Stokes, ripped through the top order and had India tottering at 58/4 by stumps on Day Two. The final day started no better — Nitish Kumar Reddy briefly resisted before falling to Chris Woakes, and despite Ravindra Jadeja’s valiant effort with the tail, the visitors crashed to a 22-run defeat.

For Harmison, the result might have been very different had Virat Kohli been in the XI.

“India has scored more hundreds, more top-order runs, and more new ball wickets, but England has got a knack of finding a way to win,” Harmison said on ESPNcricinfo Match Day. “Finding a way of creating an event throughout a session to change the course of the game. For me, India has to start believing. This is where the likes of Virat Kohli were unbelievable. In a fourth innings chase, he goes and wins the game comfortably. He would have won that game comfortably at Lord’s.”

Kohli, who announced his retirement from Test cricket in May, ended his red-ball career with 123 appearances, 9,230 runs at an average of 46.85, including 30 centuries and 31 fifties. His final century came just last year in Perth — a composed unbeaten ton against Australia that helped India set a defendable total in hostile conditions.

That innings, Harmison suggested, was typical of what Kohli brought to the table in pressure situations — the ability to shift momentum, absorb the moment, and finish the job.

“Virat in that fourth innings? No question in my mind,” Harmison added. “He thrives in pressure, he changes the mood, and he wins you games. That game had Virat Kohli written all over it.”

Kohli’s departure has left a glaring void in India’s middle order and in their temperament during high-stakes moments. While the series remains wide open, Lord’s may well be remembered as the Test where India missed Kohli the most — not just for his runs, but for the belief he embodied.

- With inputs from ANI