All-rounder Ravindra Jadeja (61 not out) leads spirited lower-order resistance after early collapse, but England hold nerve to seal 22-run win at Lord’s and take 2-1 lead
No. 11 batter Mohammed Siraj (centre) looks back in disappointment as the ball dislodges the bails to end his and India’s innings at Lord’s, London, yesterday. Pic/AFP
Some 34 minutes into the final morning, when India lost their two brightest hopes within a few overs of each other, it was a question of when rather than whether. Then, Ravindra Jadeja spearheaded a magnificent, spirited rearguard action that eventually ended in desperate heartbreak at Lord’s on an emotional Monday evening.
A third straight Test in this series went to the final session of the final day, Jadeja eking out superb resistance from Nitish Kumar Reddy, Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj. But in the end, top-order failings came back to haunt India, who found a target of 193 just a little beyond them. Siraj’s admirable resistance ended in unfortunate fashion when he dead-batted off-spinner Shoaib Bashir, only for the ball to roll back and behind him on to his leg-stump, helping England complete a memorable 22-run victory that gave them a 2-1 series edge.
Shoaib Bashir (centre) celebrates India’s last man Mohammed Siraj’s dismissal. Pic/Bipin Patel
Ben Stokes was England’s inspiration in every sense of the term, the skipper sending down two extended spells — 9.2 overs in the morning with the new ball and 10 overs in the afternoon when the softness of the cherry took away a lot of the bite — though it was Jofra Archer who had delivered the breakthrough England so craved when India resumed on 58-4. Rishabh Pant joined overnight not-outer KL Rahul, but it was clear that he was troubled by the injury to his left index finger sustained on the first day while ’keeping.
Archer produced a screamer from the Pavilion End that straightened and curled past the left-hander’s outside edge to send his off-stump cartwheeling. Any chance of India doing the early running disappeared with Pant, and their plight worsened when a Stokes incutter rushed past Rahul and struck him on his back pad. Umpire Sharfuddoula Saikat turned down Stokes’ impassioned appeal but the skipper immediately opted for the review and struck paydirt.
India’s plight went from bad to worse when Washington Sundar, promoted ahead of Nitish, failed to score, superbly caught to his right on his followthrough by Archer. At 82-7, 40 minutes after play had begun, the writing was on the wall.
Nitish helped Jadeja launch the first fightback as the two all-rounders held firm despite England’s pressure tactics and a wearing surface that facilitated uneven bounce. Jadeja was largely untroubled, reiterating how much he has come on as a Test batter, while Nitish gritted it out when Chris Woakes broke through in the last over before lunch by dismissing the latter.
India went into the break at 112-8 and everyone at the ground, among them a huge tranche of Indian supporters, was convinced the end was nigh. But Jadeja goaded Bumrah into keeping his aggression in check and slowly, India ate into the target through a routine of dot, dot, dot, single (to Jadeja) and dot, dot (by Bumrah), when the pacer finally lost patience and top-edged a Stokes pull after his 54-ball defiance.
Siraj too played his part in the classic, but it was England who came through, though it did get a little close for their comfort.
Brief scores
England 387 & 192 beat India 387 & 170 (R Jadeja 61*, KL Rahul 39; B Stokes 3-48, J Archer 3-55, B Carse 2-30) by 22 runs
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