England edge India in thriller

AFP | London

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England beat India by 22 runs to win a thrilling third Test at Lord’s yesterday as they went 2-1 up in a five-match series.

India were on the brink of defeat at 147-9, still needing a further 46 runs to reach a victory target of 193, when last man Mohammed Siraj joined Ravindra Jadeja in the middle.

Nevertheless, the pair batted on until after tea on the final day to give India hope of an improbable win. But with India in sight of just their fourth win in 20 Tests at Lord’s, Siraj played on to off-spinner Shoaib Bashir -- off the field for much of the match with a finger injury -- with the ball just dislodging the leg bail to the batsman’s visible despair.

Jadeja was left stranded on 61 not out -- the all-rounder’s fourth consecutive fifty this series -- after taking India to within sight of what would have been a stunning success before they were all out for 170.

England captain Ben Stokes bowled two lengthy spell yesterday on his way to an innings return of 3-48, with fast bowler Jofra Archer -- in his first Test after more than four years of injury induced exile -- taking 3-55. India were all but beaten at 112-8 when tailender Jasprit Bumrah came out to bat immediately after lunch.

But Jadeja and Bumrah kept England at bay with a stubborn stand of 35 in 22 overs.

Bumrah, defying a run of four successive noughts in Test cricket, defended gamely while making five in 54 balls only for his innings to end when he topedged a pull off Stokes to substitute fielder Sam Cook at mid-on.

India were now 147-9 -- a position that meant tea was delayed by 30 minutes.

But Jadeja, who overturned an lbw decision given against him on 26, went to fifty when a flashing cut off Stokes flew over the slips for the left-hander’s fourth four in 150 balls faced.

Shortly after tea, Archer struck Siraj a painful blow on the shoulder and it was not long before he fell to Bashir.

This match became a second-innings shoot-out after both teams made 387 in their first innings.

England then posted 192 before India slumped to 58-4 when Stokes bowled nightwatchman Akash Deep with what became the last ball of Sunday’s play.

Bumrah resistance

From 71-4 yesterday, the match swung England’s way once more as India lost three wickets for 11 runs in collapsing to 82-7.

Bumrah, the world’s topranked Test bowler, took 5-74 in England’s first innings after being rested from India’s dominant 336-run win in the second Test at Edgbaston.

But in 46 Tests before this match he averaged a mere 6.77 with the bat.

Nevertheless, Bumrah got off the mark yesterday with an impressive pulled four off Archer through a vacant midwicket.

England thought they had dismissed Jadeja for 26 when he was given out on the field lbw to Chris Woakes. But Jadeja’s review indicated that impact had been made marginally outside off stump and the decision was overturned.

Next ball, the left-hander launched Woakes for a huge six over midwicket.

Earlier, Rishabh Pant -- who only came into bat yesterday following Deep’s departure -- charged down the pitch to drive Archer for a typically aggressive four.

But two balls later Archer, repeatedly topping the 90 mph mark, bowled dangerman Pant for nine with a superb fulllength delivery that clipped the top of off stump.

India were looking to KL Rahul to anchor their chase following the opener’s first-innings hundred. But Rahul had added just six runs to his overnight 33 when he was lbw on review to lively medium-pacer Stokes after getting too far across his stumps.