India pacer Gurnoor Brar endured a difficult outing at Lord’s on Sunday, registering the most expensive bowling figures by any bowler in the venue’s ODI history during the series-deciding third match against England. The right-arm seamer finished with figures of 0 for 97 from his 10 overs as England piled up 387 for 3, eclipsing the previous unwanted Lord’s record held by former India all-rounder Karsan Ghavri, who conceded 81 runs in 11 overs against England in 1975. Brar’s spell also entered India’s record books. His return of 0/97 is now the third most expensive spell by an Indian bowler in ODI cricket, behind only Bhuvneshwar Kumar‘s 1/106 against South Africa at the Wankhede Stadium in 2015 and Vinay Kumar’s 1/102 against Australia in Bengaluru in 2013.Most expensive figures by an Indian bowler in an ODI1/106 (10) Bhuvneshwar Kumar vs SA Wankhede 20151/102 (9) Vinay Kumar vs Aus Bengaluru 20130/97 (10) Gurnoor Brar vs Eng Lord’s 20261/92 (10) Bhuvneshwar Kumar vs NZ Kanpur 2017 The expensive spell came as England’s top order dominated an inexperienced Indian bowling attack in the absence of Jasprit Bumrah, who missed the match because of reactive swelling in his left knee following an impact injury sustained during the second ODI. Ben Duckett led England’s charge with a superb 141, while Jacob Bethell contributed 91 as the pair stitched together a commanding 192-run opening partnership that laid the platform for a massive total. Brar found little relief throughout his spell as England’s batters continued to attack in the closing overs. Joe Root accelerated with an unbeaten 74 from just 49 balls before Jos Buttler hammered 41 not out off only 13 deliveries, taking the hosts to 387 for 3, the highest ODI total recorded at Lord’s. India’s pace attack struggled collectively. Prasidh Krishna returned figures of 2 for 69, Arshdeep Singh went wicketless while conceding 72 runs, and Prince Yadav claimed one wicket but leaked 79 runs. Together, the four fast bowlers, with a combined experience of just 51 ODIs, were unable to contain England’s aggressive batting. England’s 387 for 3 also surpassed their own previous highest ODI total at Lord’s of 334 for 4 against India in 1975, setting a new benchmark at the iconic venue. For Brar, the outing marked a harsh learning experience, with his figures becoming an unwanted part of both Lord’s and Indian ODI history.
