IND vs ENG, 3rd Test: England pips India to series lead despite Jadeja’s lone battle
There couldn’t have been a better advertisement for Test cricket on Monday. As Lord’s went nearly full on the first working day of the week, the players from both sides gave it their all in the heat of the battle, with England eventually clinching a thriller.
The crowd went into raptures after England sealed a 22-run victory over India to gain a 2-1 lead in the series. On the contrary, it was heartbreak for Ravindra Jadeja (61 not out, 181b; 4×4, 1×6), who fought a lone battle with his second fifty of the game, but in the end, he couldn’t guide the team home.
Pursuing a target of 193, with India losing eight wickets before Lunch, not many imagined a fightback. But Jadeja refused to buckle, combining with Jasprit Bumrah to delay the inevitable with a determined stand that lasted 132 balls. As the ball got older, England maintained the traditional lengths. Bumrah and Jadeja batted for nearly the entire second session before Ben Stokes broke the partnership by claiming the crucial wicket of Bumrah, whose attempted hook was caught by substitute Sam Cook at mid-on.
However, even after his departure, there was hope for a miracle.
Jadeja tried rebuilding with Mohammed Siraj and took the game to the final session, with the former taking most of the strike and changing ends only once in an over. While that approach succeeded in leaving the England bowlers frustrated, to think of it, it may have hurt India as the run-flow dried up.
As it happened: Highlights from Day 5 of ENG vs IND 3rd Test
England eventually got lucky as Shoaib Bashir bowled Siraj off a harmless defensive shot that rolled back onto the stumps. As Siraj shook his head in disbelief and walked towards the pavilion, visibly shattered, Stokes walked up to Jadeja and gave him a warm hug. It was a fine gesture given the aggression that brimmed over the last couple of days.
Three late wickets overnight had given England a shot at a comeback, and in the opening session, Stokes and Jofra Archer ripped apart India’s middle-order. The visitor’s hopes rested on K.L. Rahul and Rishabh Pant, but neither could build on. After being hit for a couple of boundaries, Archer sent Pant’s off-stump cartwheeling and followed it up with an animated send-off.
Stokes trapped Rahul in front with a nip-backer soon after. Though the on-field umpire turned down England’s appeal, ball-tracking validated that it was indeed hitting the stumps. The free fall continued as Archer grabbed a low one-handed stunner in his follow-through to send back Washington Sundar for nought.
As India lost three wickets for just 11 runs in the space of four overs, it seemed just a matter of time before England romped home. But with Jadeja digging in with Nitish Kumar Reddy, India’s deficit was brought down below 100 before Chris Woakes cleaned up the latter.
Jadeja gave it his all during his four-and-a-half hour long stay at the crease, but couldn’t take his team past the finish line.
