"I didn't have problem in adjusting to the slope"- When an Indian pacer made an honest admission after taking five-wicket haul at Lord's

The Lord's cricket ground in London is known for many things, one among which is the slope at the venue. In 2011, Indian pacer Praveen Kumar took a five-wicket haul on his maiden Test appearance at Lord's. The Uttar Pradesh seamer took 5/106 in the first innings to put his name on the honors' board.

Kumar later said that he did not have any issues adjusting to the slope at Lord's as he had gotten used to it after practicing for two days.

"I got used to it (from practice) on the first two days. I didn't have problem in adjusting to the slope," Kumar had said (via Rediff).

India went a bowler short after Zaheer Khan was forced to walk off on the opening day of the Test series at Lord's. That had prompted MS Dhoni to take the ball and he nearly removed Kevin Pietersen, but was denied by the DRS.

Kumar admitted that Dhoni had done the right thing of opting to bowl, in the absence of a pacer. He said:

"We were a bowler short. Somebody had to contribute with 7-8 overs. Mahi (Dhoni) did the right thing."

India went 1-0 down after England produced an all-round performance at Lord's

Indian captain MS Dhoni won the toss and opted to field first in the series opener against England at Lord's in 2011.That decision, however, backfired as a 326-ball 202 from Kevin Pietersen propelled the hosts to 474/8 declared.

India's battters, barring Rahul Dravid, who made an unbeaten 103, failed to deliver and the tourists were bundled out for 286. In the second innings, they had England 62-5 but questionable captaincy and an unbeaten 103 from Matt Prior helped England declare with a lead of 458 runs.

India faltered in pursuit of a world record chase, getting all out for 261 runs in the second innings to lose by 196 runs and give England a 1-0 lead in the series.

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Edited by Sankalp Srivastava