England edge India in Lord’s thriller to take series lead
3rd Test, Day 5: England 387 & 192 beat India 387 & 170 by 22 runs
LORD’S — It wasn’t quite by the barest of margins this time, but it was close enough.
Six years to the day since both starred in an unforgettable World Cup final at this ground, Ben Stokes and Jofra Archer again took centre in another instant classic.
For Stokes, whose team now take a 2-1 series lead into next week’s fourth Test in Manchester, this was the result of an astonishing feat of athleticism and endurance as he pushed himself through 19 lung-busting overs on this final day to inspire his team to a nerve-jangling 22-run win.
For Archer, whose two wickets inside the first hour set the tone on a dramatic fifth day, this was a result – and a performance – in his first Test match for four-and-half years that must have been beyond his wildest dreams.
His Super Over here at Lord’s in that 2019 final against New Zealand has gone down in English cricketing folklore.
But Archer’s return here after so long away from Test cricket will now join it.
As for England, defending a target of 193 in a third Test that remained nip and tuck right up until its denouement at 4.52pm on the final day, this must rank as the finest win of a Bazball era that has been defined by a succession of epic run chases.
This time, it was down to the bowlers to get the job done and they managed it despite the tenacity of Ravindra Jadeja, whose unbeaten 61 took this contest right down to the wire.
In the end it was down to Shoaib Bashir, the off-spinner who spent much of this final day off the field with a suspected finger fracture, to finish the job, Mohammed Siraj seeing the ball spin agonisingly onto his leg stump after he had seemingly defended the delivery.
Coming in front of a majority Indian crowd at Lord’s, this was some occasion.
The bad blood between these teams that first surfaced on the third day, was also clearly evident.
It made for compelling cricket. In the end, though, India, whose highest successful chase in this country remains at 173, could not get over the line.
The tourists, resuming on 58 for 4, were slight favourites coming into this final day.
Yet England knew early wickets would tip the balance of power in their favour.
Handing Archer the ball first thing from the Pavilion End ahead of Brydon Carse, who had dismissed Karun Nair and Shubman Gill the previous evening, was a huge call. Yet it worked.
England were aware half an hour or so of Pant could end their hopes.
The explosive wicketkeeper-batter signalled his intent early when advancing down the pitch during Archer’s second over of the day to smash a one-handed four down the ground.
It was disdainful, a point not lost on Archer, who voiced his displeasure in the first clash of an ill-tempered day.
He followed up with an absolute brute of a delivery two balls later, the 90mph rocket moving off the pitch and detonating Pant’s off-stump to spark huge celebrations. Enter Jadeja 17 minutes into the day.
India, now 71 for 5, needed 122 more to win.
Their equation became trickier still three overs later when Stokes nailed KL Rahul’s front pad and implored umpire Paul Reiffel to give it lbw, dropping to his knees with arms aloft in a manner reminiscent of another great all-rounder in Andrew Flintoff.
No finger came up but the review was inevitable, as was the decision once the replays flashed up on the big screens. Rahul, scorer of a century in India’s first innings, was gone. This was now England’s game.
The third wicket to fall inside the first 40 minutes of the day came from a brilliant piece of acrobatic fielding from Archer, who extracted a leading edge from Washington Sundar and leapt to his right to take a stunning one-handed catch.
It was evident Washington had riled not only the cricketing gods with his comments following day four but England’s players after the send-off he got from Ben Duckett and Harry Brook.
Having predicted India would “definitely” win this match “probably just after lunch”, his four-ball duck left his team on 81 for 7.
Nitish Kumar Reddy joined Jadeja at the crease and the eighth-wicket pair frustrated England as tempers got even more frayed.
Stokes, during a marathon nine-over spell on this final morning, first had words with Reddy.
Carse then clashed with Jadeja after the latter ran into him at the end of the 35th over.
As the tourists reduced their deficit to 81, England were in need of a wicket. It came on the stroke of lunch, Chris Woakes finding Reddy’s edge to end a 30-run stand that had lasted 14.5 overs.
An English victory now appeared certain. But with Jadeja digging in alongside Jasprit Bumrah, India were edging back into it.
Woakes appeared to have Jadeja pinned lbw on 26 but the Indian was reprieved on review.
The next ball from Woakes was dispatched for six by Jadeja, with India’s required runs now down to 62.
They were 46 by the time Stokes – who else? – ended 90 minutes of resistance by suckering Bumrah into top-edging a short ball.
One wicket to go. But England had to wait, new man Siraj keeping Jadeja company until a delayed tea break, with the runs needed for India now down to 30.
That eked down further during a final-wicket partnership that spanned 13.2 overs before Bashir struck to become the unlikely hero of a dramatic day.
