The closing day of the third Test between India and England at the legendary Lord’s Cricket Ground in London could not have been better, with 14 wickets falling on Day 4.
India needs 135 runs to win on Day 5, while England needs six wickets.
England began Day 4 at 2/0, with openers Zak Crawley and Ben Duckett in the crease. The latter was England’s first batter to be dismissed, as Mohammed Siraj provided India’s crucial breakthrough. Ollie Pope was unable to live up to his promise as the raging Siraj drove him away.
Nitish Kumar Reddy came in as the first-change bowler, and he dismissed Crawley in his second over of the day. Harry Brook aimed to take the attack to the Indian bowlers by counter-attacking while batting. In one over, he hit Akash Deep twice for four and once for six. However, he took one too many shots, and the Bengal speedster cleaned him up in the following over. Brook attempted a sweep shot, but he moved too far across towards the off-stump, causing his middle stump to be uprooted.
England lost four wickets for 87 runs and relied on the experience of Joe Root and Ben Stokes to create a solid combination to get out of their predicament. They rode their luck and scored 67 runs off 128 balls when Washington Sundar bowled Root around the legs.
This marked the beginning of a brilliant spell of bowling from the all-rounder, who got the ball to drift significantly and sent Jamie Smith and Ben Stokes packing. Jasprit Bumrah returned to the attack and claimed the wickets of Brydon Carse and Chris Woakes with two superb deliveries. Shoaib Bashir came out to bat with an injured hand and barely lasted nine balls before Sundar took the last wicket to end with a four-for.
England were bowled out for 192, leaving the tourists with a goal of 193 runs. Yashasvi Jaiswal was out again to Jofra Archer after failing to open his account after seven balls. KL Rahul and Karun Nair kept the ship afloat until the latter’s lack of judgement put England back in the game. Nair raised his arms in response to Brydon Carse’s delivery, which came in at an angle and smacked him in the pads. The umpire lifted his finger without hesitation, and the right-handed batter elected to walk the long distance back to the pavilion rather than request a review.
Shubman Gill came out to the middle and was given out by Paul Reiffel after England requested a catch behind. However, the Indian skipper reviewed the call and survived. However, he was not as fortunate when Carse hit him in the pads with the penultimate delivery of the 15th over, close to the stumps. Gill went for the review, but it came back with three reds.
Akash Deep was assigned as the nightwatchman, and he effectively carried out his primary responsibility of protecting Rahul and the batters who followed. However, Stokes dismissed him with a pearler in the 18th over, which proved to be the day’s final delivery. India finished at 58/4, with Rahul unbeaten on 33 from 47 balls.
India
