Cricket at its home: Top 5 Test bowling performances at Lord's, London

The Lord's Cricket Ground in London is one of the most iconic venues to have ever witnessed the sport of cricket. Established as a set of three grounds between 1787 and 1814, the venue is also one of the oldest ever, having stood the test of time for more than 200 years.

Widely referred to as the "Home of Cricket", the Lord's have been hosting Tests since 1884, ODIs since 1972 and T20Is since 2009, maintaining a pattern of two Tests and two ODIs per year over a more recent period of time. The stadium capacity is at around 28000.

The Lord's has an enormous history in terms of international cricket, having witnessed several iconic moments. It is only going to get better in the coming days as India are back at one of their favourite venues in England, to play in the second game of the five-match Test series against England who are currently leading the series 1 - nil.

In the meantime, let's take a look at some of the best Test match bowling performances that have come from the venue.

#1 Sir Ian Botham (8/34) - 2nd Test, Pakistan's 1978 tour of England: June 19.

Sir Ian Botham played the all-important role in Pakistan's innings defeat against England in 1978. England posted 364 in the first innings, to which Pakistan replied with 105 in their first innings and 139 in their follow-on innings, both of which as a sum total, still couldn't overcome that of England's.

Botham's career-best figures came in Pak's second innings, as he bowled 21 overs and gave away just 34 runs, picking up eight wickets. He was also the man-of-the-match.

#2 Glenn McGrath (8/38) - 2nd Test, Australia's 1997 tour of England: June 19

"The Bird"

In the same day as Sir Ian Botham picking up an eight-wicket haul at the Lord's but several years later, another bowler repeated the feat. This time, it was someone of the touring side as Australia's Glenn McGrath literally bamboozled the English to send them packing at 77 in their first innings.

McGrath bowled a formidable spell of 21 - 8 -38 - 8 as Atherton, Alec Stewart, Nasser Hussain and so on were among his victims on Day 1 of the game itself. Australia declared at 213 for 7 in their second innings to which England replied with 266 for 4, after which the match was drawn. England's super-cautious approach in their second innings saved the game for the hosts, in what would have otherwise been McGrath's game in total.

#3 Derek Underwood (5/20 and 8/51) - 2nd Test, Pakistan's 1974 tour of England: August 8 - 13

Derek Underwood with compatriot Miller

Underwood is one of England's best ever exponents of Test-cricket bowling. Throughout the length of his career, he has delivered several stand-out performances, however, the best of those would arguably the 1974 game against Pakistan at the Lord's when he took the entire opposition hostage with his bowling arm alone.

Pakistan folded to scores of 130 and 226 in their first and second innings, as Derek produced spells of 14 - 8 - 20 - 5 and 35 - 17 - 51 - 8. Now that amounts to 49 - 25 - 71 - 13. Let the enormity of those figures sink in, dear reader.

England was all-out at 270 in the first innings and had a target of 87 to win, but at 27 for 0 in their second chance, time was up and the match had to be drawn. Underwood's best-ever match performance thus failed to produce a definite result, but nevertheless, it was one of the most brilliant performances of the past fifty years of the game.

#4 Bob Massie (8/84 and 8/53) - 2nd Test, Australia's 1972 tour of England: June 22 - 26

Bob Massie (centre) returns to the pavilion amidst teammates' applause after the game

When taking into account some of the best-ever bowling performances from a Test-match, one will definitely remember Jim Laker's 19-wicket haul in Old Trafford. Another person to have come close to this achievement is Bob Massie, who picked up sixteen wickets in a single game against hosts England in 1972, that too as a visitor to the country.

Massie delivered figures of 33 - 7 - 84 - 8 and 28 - 9 - 53 - 8, adding up to 61 - 16 - 137 - 16 from the whole game. His bowling triggered England's collapses in both innings, scoring just 272 and 116. Australia won the game, having scored 308 in the first innings and needing just 81 runs to win in the second innings. Massie was awarded "best player" for his defining spells.

#5 James Anderson (2/31 and 7/42) - 3rd Test, Windies' 2017 tour of England: September 7 - 9.

James Anderson is in news for a different sport these days

The only player in this list, to feature in current International Cricket, Anderson's amazing spell was the highlight of England's home season of 2017. He destroyed the Windies' hopes for a win, also handing the hosts the Test series in total.

Batting first, Windies were restricted to 128 runs thanks to Ben Stokes' six-for. Anderson picked up the two crucial wickets of Kraig Brathwaite and Kyle Hope, in the meantime. England scored 194 in reply, giving Windies a hope of victory, provided they scored well in their second game. But Anderson dashed it all away, running riot over the visitors' lineup, eventually picking up seven wickets for just 42 runs. Overall, he had figures of 36 - 12 - 73 - 9, as England won the game easily, completing their 107-run target chase with the loss of just one wicket.

Not sure if you readers picked up a very quirky fact from this slideshow, the fact that four out of the five best-bowling performances at Lord's have come in the second Test of a series - the same situation that India will be at against England, starting tomorrow. Also, the only person who has not picked his best in a 2nd Test - the above-mentioned Jimmy Anderson - he will be featuring in tomorrow's game. Hence conditions are totally in favour of probably a blitzkrieg bowling performance happening from an individual (it need not be Anderson himself). As of now, let us wait and watch what the game will have to offer.