3rd Test: England survive spicy start to second innings after India also finish on 387 (ld)

London, July 12 (IANS) England openers Zak Crawley and Ben Duckett survived a spicy start to the second innings to reach 2/0 at stumps after bowling out India for 387, also their first innings score, on Day Three in the third Test of the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy series at Lord’s here on Saturday.

In a day full of ebbs and flows, India were very much primed to take the lead after KL Rahul hit exactly 100 runs – his tenth century in the format, while Rishabh Pant and Ravindra Jadeja made 74 and 72 respectively. But India lost their last four wickets for 11 runs to be bowled out for the exact score England made in their first innings.

For the hosts, Chris Woakes was the standout bowler with 3-84, and along with Ben Stokes’ brilliant run-out of Pant, they ensured the game’s fate would be decided via a second innings shootout. With 10 minutes left at the end of day three’s play, tempers began to flare up as Crawley pulled away four times before facing the third ball from Jasprit Bumrah.

A few choice words were exchanged by India skipper Shubman Gill, who believed England were employing time-wasting tactics. Crawley was then hit on the glove, so he took a moment to check his hand and called for the physio. Gill also had a heated argument with Ben Duckett.

Things began to heat up again as Gill made a sarcastic clap and gestured towards the pavilion, even as Crawley was checked for his injury, before being beaten by a seaming away delivery from Bumrah to end a fascinating day’s play.

In the morning, resuming from 145/3, Pant began the third day by flicking Jofra Archer for a boundary, before dancing down the pitch to slash the pacer over offside for four more. With the left index finger still giving him immense pain, Pant kept taking his left hand off the bat at every opportunity he could do so.

Rahul, meanwhile, was happy in respecting good balls, before guiding Woakes through gully for four, and driving Carse for another boundary. While Pant thumped Woakes for another boundary and then cut him for a four yet again, Rahul at his pristine best in terms of timing to pick a hat-trick of fours off Carse, two of which came off flicks.

Pant, after getting his finger looked at again by physio Kamlesh Jain, got his 17th Test fifty by hooking Ben Stokes over long leg for six. England had a change of ball immediately after the drinks break, but the replacement ball didn’t come of much help in stemming the run-flow. Rahul played a classical backfoot punch off Carse for four, while Pant greeted Shoaib Bashir by lofting him straight down the ground for six.

Stokes brought himself on to try and change things up by going around the wicket to both Pant and Rahul with the short ball barrage. But the duo took a boundary each off him, even as Pant was hit on the glove and needed medical help for the second time in the session. Ahead of the lunch break, India were pushing hard to get Rahul back on strike so that he could get his hundred.

But on the third ball of the 66th over, Pant defended to the off-side and Stokes at cover point picked the ball and threw it towards the non-striker's end – all in one motion. With some hesitation from Pant to go for a run, the direct hit did catch him short of his crease, leaving him devastated while Stokes and Co. went into the lunch break pumped up and with the hope of making further inroads in the second session.

The session began with Rahul driving Archer through mid-off for a single to get his second ton of the series and also his second century at the iconic ground after last doing so back in 2021. But in the next over, a real lapse in concentration saw Rahul edge to first slip off Shoaib Bashir and fall for 100 off 177 balls.

From there, absolute chaos followed - Jadeja tried to sneak a single amidst an lbw appeal, and Nitish was a goner if Ollie Pope had fired his direct hit right. He enjoyed another lucky break on zero when Pope missed the stumps yet again.

The duo had to face a tough examination from Archer, who was pacy and accurate while mostly clocking 90mph in a short four-over spell, causing the crowd to gasp out of awe and admiration. But then Archer was missing the stumps, which meant Jadeja and Nitish weren’t separated.

When Bashir came in, Jadeja pulled him over mid-wicket for four, before getting a thick edge past Carse for another boundary. Nitish too began finding his bearings by lofting Bashir for four, before glancing Archer and Woakes for a four each. Reddy was hit on the grille by a bouncer before he and Jadeja had a third mix-up, but managed to survive till tea break came.

The final session began with Jadeja and Nitish hitting a boundary each, before Stokes again conjured a wicket out of nowhere. Stokes bowled a vicious short ball which bounced very high and took Reddy’s glove edge behind to wicketkeeper Jamie Smith, as the 50-run stand came to an end. Jadeja marched forward to bring up his third successive half-century of this series with a lovely drive past mid-off off Root for four.

After a brief period of patience, Jadeja lofted Root for six, before cutting him for four more. While Jadeja kept the scoreboard ticking by taking two fours off Carse – one of which came off an inside edge, Washington Sundar got going by punching Stokes for four, before bringing out a classy inside-out lofted six off Joe Root, who was entrusted with spin bowling after Bashir took a blow on his left hand.

But Woakes found the edge on Jadeja’s flick and Smith took a fine diving catch down the leg-side behind to dismiss the batter for 72 off 131 balls. Akash Deep survived two lbw appeals off Woakes, before a superb, diving, one-handed effort from Harry Brook moving to his right at third slip ended his stay at the crease off Carse’s bowling.

Woakes then produced an absolute jaffa of a delivery – nipping away a little – to take shoulder edge of Bumrah’s bat to Smith behind. A single from Washington earlier brought the scores level, before he mistimed a pull to Brook at very deep third man, as India lost five wickets in the session for 71 runs, leaving the Test match evenly poised.

Brief scores:

England 387 and 2/0 in 1 over (Zak Crawley 2 not out) lead India 387 in 119.2 overs (KL Rahul 100, Rishabh Pant 74, Ravindra Jadeja 72; Chris Woakes 3-84, Jofra Archer 2-52) by two runs

--IANS

nr/bsk/