ENG vs IND 2025, 3rd Test Day 3 Review: India, England on level terms after first two innings at Lord’s

India began Day 3 of the third Test at Lord’s on 145/3, with KL Rahul and Rishabh Pant at the crease. The tourists trailed England’s first-inning score by 242 runs.

Pant smashed two boundaries in the first over of the day, but England bowled brilliantly, forcing the Indians to play cautiously. Ben Stokes chose short-pitched bowling to target Pant’s left shoulder, putting him in a difficult situation because to an injured left index finger. The Three Lions deployed six fielders on the leg side, expecting that the wicketkeeper-batter would hit one up in the air.

Pant, despite being hit twice on his damaged finger, pushed through discomfort and scored 74 runs before being removed on the stroke of Lunch.

England took just one wicket in the first session, which was completely dominated by India.

KL Rahul scored a century in the second session and was out straight after. He scored 100 off 177 balls, including 13 fours. Ravindra Jadeja scored another half-century, forming crucial partnerships with fellow all-rounders Nitish Kumar Reddy (30) and Washington Sundar (23). The Saurashtra cricketer scored 72 runs off 131 balls before being strangled down the leg-side by Chris Woakes’ bowling, which Jamie Smith caught brilliantly.

India’s bottom order once again failed to deliver, with Akash Deep and Jasprit Bumrah removed for seven and zero, respectively. Washington was the last batter to be ejected, scoring 23 off 76 balls. India finished with 387 after 119.2 overs. They would be upset not to have taken a 30- to 40-run advantage.

Woakes ended as the highest wicket-taker for England with figures of 3/84 in 27 overs. Meanwhile, Jofra Archer and Stokes bagged two wickets apiece. Shoaib Bashir injured himself while fielding in the second session and didn’t bowl thereafter. His fitness will be a concern for the hosts.

England had to bat one over in the end, and it turned out to be an eventful affair. India tried their best to force in a second over but Zak Crawley didn’t allow them to win the race against time. England finished on 2/0 at Stumps on Day 3.