The veteran England Test all-rounder, Stuart Broad, wasn’t present in the home dressing room when under the leadership of Virat Kohli, India went on to win the second of the five-match Test series at Lord’s on the twilight part of the game with a margin of 151 runs. They bundled out the hosts for just 120 runs in the fourth inning.
At present, under the captaincy of Rohit Sharma, the Blue Brigade has been riding high after the dominant 2-0 margin victory over Bangladesh, as they look forward to the next red-ball series against New Zealand. The main aim for the home side will be to qualify for the third consecutive final of the World Test Championship (WTC) 2023-25.
After that final, they will start their campaign for the next WTC 2025-27 cycle with a blockbuster away series in England with five tests, and Stuart Broad reckoned that the Lord’s defeat stung the home dressing room a lot.
Stuart Broad addresses 2025 Test tour of England could be the end of Virat Kohli
The memories of the 2021 encounter of the Lord’s Test are still very fresh and exciting and have already built enthusiasm towards what’s expected to be an unforgettable contest between the two sides.
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The Virat Kohli-led side was robbed of rain in the opening Test at Trent Bridge in Nottingham, where the rain of the fifth day snatched the opportunity of a victory. Stuart Broad reflected on how fierce and competitive the 2021 series was between the two sides.
“Don’t underestimate how much it hurt England when India won at Lord’s (in 2021) and drew the series. It was an aggressive test match, Mohammed Siraj bowled fantastically well on the final day, a drier pitch and just getting that bit of movement.” The former England pacer, who announced his retirement from the last Ashes Test in 2023 at the Kennington Oval in South London, claimed at the event to support the launch of Inside Lord’s, as quoted by Nottingham Post.
The veteran wasn’t part of the series apart from the first Test after he injured himself. But, Stuart Broad looked back at how much that defeat hurt England in the dressing room and equally was as joyous to the Indian team.
“It was an amazing, emotional Test match to watch, and I know how much that hurt the England dressing room. Equally, it was very joyous for India to come here – we saw the joy on Kohli’s face and how much that meant to him. I think it’s going to be an absolute crackerjack of a series.” The 38-year-old, who has been part of 167 red-ball games to collect 604 wickets at an average of under 28 and a strike rate of nearly nine overs, expressed.
He also stated that Kohli, who will turn 36 this year, will likely be touring the England side last time for the upcoming five-match Test series because the next trip for them would be in 2029 when the batter would be around 40.
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“This could be Virat’s last tour of England. They’ve got so much talent and so much depth, and England are slightly more youthful and less experienced but have a huge amount of talent and play this front-foot style of cricket.” Stuart Broad highlighted this during the discussion.
Rahul Dravid, the T20 World Cup-winning head coach of the Indian side, told Kohli “3 whites ticked, one red to go” after the latter retired from the shortest format of the game. The 2025 series will start on June 20, and Stuart Broad predicts that he will end up with a 2-2 margin if the weather stays well.