A thrilling end to the fascinatingly balanced third Test is in prospect after a fine fightback from the home team
Fired-up England have reduced India to 4-58, chasing 193 for victory in a highly-charged final session on day four as a gripping third Test at Lord’s headed for a tense finale.
England fast bowler Jofra Archer dismissed Yashasvi Jaiswal for nought, Brydon Carse removed Karun Nair and Shubman Gill, and captain Ben Stokes bowled nightwatchman Akash Deep in the final over on Sunday to set up a thrilling last day.
Indian opener KL Rahul remained unbeaten on 33 and the touring side need another 135 with six wickets standing to go 2-1 up in the series after they had dominated the morning session at the home of cricket to move into a strong position.
“The last hour’s viewing, our guys running in really well, there was an edge out there and it shows how important Test cricket is and creates a great spectacle for everyone to be involved in,” England batting coach Marcus Trescothick said.
With the pitch offering more assistance to the bowlers and variable bounce, England tried to bat positively but Ben Duckett, Zak Crawley, Ollie Pope and Harry Brook all fell cheaply.
Duckett played an audacious ramp shot to the boundary but two balls later he attempted to pull Mohammed Siraj through the leg side and was easily caught by Jasprit Bumrah at mid-on to depart for 12.
Siraj roared at Duckett as he walked back to the pavilion as the tension between the teams that flared up late on Saturday continued to simmer.
Pope never looked comfortable and was trapped lbw by Siraj for four after India successfully reviewed the umpire’s initial decision of not out.
Crawley, on 22, played a loose drive at Nitish Kumar Reddy and the ball flew straight to gully where Jaiswal took a simple catch.
Brook ramped Deep for consecutive fours before driving him over long-off for six, but the fast bowler quickly exacted revenge when he bowled the right-hander for 23 as he attempted a rash sweep to a straight full-pitched delivery.
Joe Root, who scored 104 in the first innings, shared a patient partnership of 67 with Stokes to revive England hopes before he was bowled behind his legs by Washington Sundar for 40.
The spinner also bowled in-form Jamie Smith for eight to reduce the hosts to 6-175 at tea, before India wrapped up the innings early in the final session.
Stokes was bowled by Washington for 33 attempting a big hit, and Bumrah bowled Carse with a rapid yorker for one before clipping the top of Chris Woakes’s off stump to dismiss him for 10.
Washington completed excellent figures of 4-22 when he took the final wicket of Shoaib Bashir to dismiss England for 192.
In reply, Jaiswal skied Archer to wicketkeeper Smith with a wild swipe to give England early hope.
Carse trapped Nair lbw for 14 and Gill fell the same way for six. Deep survived two huge appeals before he was bowled by Stokes for one to the delight of the majority of the Lord’s crowd.
