ENG vs IND 2025, 3rd Test Day 5 Review: England take 2-1 lead with thrilling win at Home of Cricket

England won the third Test by 22 runs at the famous Lord’s Cricket Ground, giving them a 2-1 lead in the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy with two games remaining.

The final day of the Test match was intriguingly poised, with India needing another 135 runs and six wickets to spare. The onus was on KL Rahul and Rishabh Pant to guide the tourists closer to their destination. However, Ben Stokes and Jofra Archer were on point from the start of the morning session, making life difficult for the Indian hitters.

On Day 5, Archer delivered England’s first breakthrough by bowling a pearler to dismiss Pant.

Rahul received a peach of a nip-backer from Stokes a few overs later, and India were in trouble at 81/6. Things got much worse for the Asian giants when Archer caught Washington Sundar beautifully off his own bowling. From 71/4, India fell to 82/7 and was staring down the barrel.

Nitish Kumar Reddy teamed up with Ravindra Jadeja, and the two attempted to take the game deep by displaying a lot of grit and effort with the bat. However, Chris Woakes terminated Reddy around lunchtime. India lost four wickets in the morning session, with Stokes leading the way with a 9.2-over effort up front.

All hopes were on Jadeja, who had only Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj for company. Bumrah provided strong support to the Saurashtra all-rounder, batting 54 balls for five runs. Jadeja scored 35 runs off 132 balls alongside the ace speedster.

Bumrah couldn’t contain himself after England employed the short-ball tactic. Sam Cook, the substitute fielder, caught him at mid-on after a mistimed pull shot.

Siraj joined Jadeja in the middle and demonstrated outstanding application. They added 23 runs, bringing India within touching distance. Shoaib Bashir produced a back-of-a-length delivery that spun a long way in the day’s final session, which Siraj successfully guarded. However, the ball drifted back onto the stumps, and one bail fell off, leaving England in disarray.

Siraj was down on his haunches, unable to believe his luck. Jadeja, who scored an undefeated 61 off 181 balls, was also heartbroken. Archer and Stokes each took three wickets as England triumphed by 22 runs.