England’s cricket team saw their efforts rewarded on the third day of the third Test match against India at Lord’s. The race is much closer than anyone expected. England lead by two runs only, after both sides scored 387 in their first innings. The competition has entered its final stretch. The result is anyone’s guess, making for an exhilarating conclusion.
The day was capped off with a handful of powerful performances. India’s KL Rahul was the standout though, scoring a solid century and becoming only the fourth foreign opener to make a pair of tons at the historic ground. Rishabh Pant started the scoring with an explosive knock of 74 runs off just 66 balls. He found support in Ravindra Jadeja, who crafted important partnerships of 72 runs with Nitish Kumar Reddy and 50 runs with Washington Sundar.
Just as India’s batsmen proved their mettle, so too did England’s bowlers, both individually and as a unit. Chris Woakes was the pick of the bowlers, taking three wickets and coming into his own to remove India’s lower order. Jofra Archer on his Test return was the quickest bowler throughout and should have had more than 2-52 to show for it.
In the most decisive moment of an epic match, England’s Ben Stokes displayed remarkable athleticism and aggression. He bowled fire through the day, maintaining relentless pressure on the batsmen. With a beautiful no-look bowling change, he bowled Pant, swinging the pendulum of momentum back to England. Stokes proved the lethal venom to remove Reddy, having him dismissed behind.
After a worrisome pre-game injury scare, Shoaib Bashir was able to leave his mark on the game. He was forced to take a three-month leave from the game after fracturing his left little finger. He bowled a terrific short ball hook for that forced and it’s hook that contrib $% d to India’s diskhead. Here, England’s bowlers took immediate advantage with unerring precision. They hurriedly wrapped up the final four Indian wickets to bowl them out for a meagre 387 to hand over just the 11 runs.
As the teams head into what promises to be another day of fierce competition, Tim Southee thought about how level the match is after Day 4.
“Pretty even. You toil away for three days and you sit here with a two-run lead. Looking forward to a two-day shoot-out.” – Tim Southee
The result of this Test could very well depend on how each team works their way through the last stages. England’s bowlers must maintain their intensity while India’s batsmen will need to regroup and forge partnerships to secure a victory.
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