London, July 14 (UNI) A defiant half-century from Ravindra Jadeja kept India’s faint hopes alive in the third Test at Lord’s, but England remain firmly in control after reducing the visitors to 163 for 9 at tea on the final day.
Set a target of 193, India resumed at 58 for 4 today morning and slumped to 112 for 8 by lunch, as England’s relentless pace battery, led by Jofra Archer, Chris Woakes, and Ben Stokes, tore through the middle order. However, Jadeja stood tall amidst the ruins with an unbeaten 56, battling hard even as wickets tumbled around him.
Jadeja’s fightback was marked by sheer resilience and timely aggression. He brought up India’s 150 in the 65th over with a single off Brydon Carse, greeted with thunderous applause from Indian fans. The left-hander soon reached a gritty half-century off 150 balls with a top-edged slash over the slips off Stokes in the 68th over, again drawing the loudest cheer of the day. Uncharacteristically, Jadeja refrained from his trademark sword celebration, instead focusing on the uphill task ahead.
The innings had moments of flair. In the 66th over, Jadeja flicked a full delivery from Stokes to the square leg boundary with authority. Just before that, in the 47th over, he had launched Woakes for a six over midwicket, igniting a brief wave of optimism in the Indian camp.
Earlier in the day, India lost KL Rahul for 39 to a successful Stokes LBW review. Washington Sundar followed next ball, caught and bowled by Archer. Rishabh Pant played a couple of attacking shots but was bowled by a peach from Archer for 9. Nitish Kumar Reddy and Jadeja attempted to stem the collapse, but Woakes removed Reddy just before lunch for a gritty 13.
After the break, England struck again. Jasprit Bumrah, who had offered stubborn resistance, was dismissed by a short ball from Stokes for 5, caught by substitute fielder Sam Cook. Bumrah’s lone highlight was a confident pull for four off Archer, his first runs in Test cricket since Sydney.
There were also fortuitous runs for India. Bumrah picked up four leg byes off Shoaib Bashir, and Jadeja cashed in on an errant delivery from Archer straying down leg to collect another boundary in the 41st over.
India reached 163 for 9 at tea, still 30 runs adrift of the target, with Jadeja unbeaten on 56 and Mohammed Siraj on 2. Despite the valiant effort, the mountain remains steep with just one wicket in hand and England hunting for the final blow.
Earlier, both teams posted identical first-innings scores of 387, with England managing 192 in their second outing.
