Moeen Ali enjoying every bit of his Test return, says 'Just wanted to be part of it'

Moeen Ali, the England all-rounder, is relishing his comeback to Test cricket in the ongoing second match against India at Lord's. Moeen, while addressing the press after the end of the day's play, said he is delighted with himself and the manner he is playing in the match. "It's more about enjoying myself," Moeen said, adding that he just wanted to be a part of the series and take wickets and score runs.

"I'm happy with myself, I'm happy with the way I'm playing... I'm not taking it too seriously anymore; I'm going to enjoy it. I know there will be bad days, plenty of bad days in a series and I know there will be good days. I just wanted to be part of this series and do well, take wickets and a few runs, hopefully, get some more runs. I feel all right with the bat so I'm just enjoying my cricket. It's more about enjoying myself and trying to enjoy the challenge as much as I could" Moeen Ali said. 

Moeen lauds Mark Wood

Moeen also heaped praise on fellow teammate Mark Wood, who provided England with an early breakthrough on Day 4 as he picked up in-form KL Rahul's wicket. Moeen said he is very pleased for Wood, who had gone wicketless in the first innings of the match. Wood dismissed Rahul for just 5 runs and then followed that up by picking Rohit Sharma's wicket in his next over. Wood also dismissed Cheteshwar Pujara at a time when a partnership between the Indian batter and his vice-captain Ajinkya Rahane was flourishing. 

Day 5 of the second Test match at Lord's has begun with England striking early and dismissing Rishabh Pant for 22 runs. India has acquired a lead of 186 runs at the time of publishing this copy with Mohammed Shami and Jasprit Bumrah in the middle taking blows from English pacers. 

Image: PTI