Lord’s Test hangs in balance after India match England’s first innings score

London: KL Rahul racked up his second hundred at the iconic Lord’s before India matched England’s first innings total of 387 on an attritional day three of the third Test to leave the game on even keel on a deteriorating pitch.

Besides Rahul’s high quality effort (100 off 177), Ravindra Jadeja (72 off 131) and Rishabh Pant (74 off 112) propped up India’s first innings total.

It would be a challenge for India to bat last on a surface where the odd ball is taking off after pitching besides offering some turn.

Zak Crawley then wasted precious time to ensure that he faced only solitary hostile over from Jasprit Bumrah as England went into fourth day with a slender two-run lead.

But in the final five minutes on third day, there was enough drama with Shubman Gill and Crawley engaged in a confrontation which could have turned uglier after Indian skipper in some choicest language urged the English opener to show some guts while facing Bumrah.

It was a spectacle once again to see Jofra Archer go about his business and consistently breaching 90 mph mark. Ben Stokes too got the ball to rise sharply from back of length and one of them crashed into Nitish Reddy’s helmet grille.

Like the case in England innings, India chose to play waiting game on a two-paced track, scoring at less than 3.5 runs per over.

Indian lower-order consumed a lot of balls but was not able to push the scoring rate. After scoring his third fifty in a row, Jadeja got a faint edge down the leg side off Chris Woakes.

Akash Deep got two on field lbw decision was overturned via DRS but perished after hitting a six.

Realising he was running out of partners, Washington Sundar went for a wild swing off Archer but caught by Harry Brook at a straightish fine leg to bring an end to India’s innings.

In the afternoon, Rahull got out to a loose drive after completing his 10th Test hundred.

Rahul reached his hundred shortly after the lunch break with a single off Archer. He became second Indian batter after Dilip Vengsarkar (3 hundreds) to score multiple ton at the Lord's.

However, he had a lapse in concentration in the very next over when he went for a drive off a flighted delivery from Shoaib Bashir but ended up edging it to Harry Brook at first slip.

Runs were hard to come by in the session with India accumulating only 68 runs.

Bashir was forced off the field soon after getting into the wickets column as he took a blow on his left finger while fielding off his own bowling.

The poor running between the wickets between Reddy and Jadeja also stood out in the session. Either of them could have been run out thrice.

England took the second new ball immediately but did not get much out of it. Rahul gifting his wicket early in the session was their sole success of the session.

Earlier, Rishabh Pant overcame pain in his left index finger to score an entertaining half-century before getting run out at the stroke of lunch, leaving India at 248 for four in 64 overs.

With Rahul closing in on a ton at the other end, Pant attempted an avoidable quick single in the last over of the session but England skipper Ben Stokes pulled off a brilliant direct hit running in from cover to give his team something in a session controlled by the opposition.

The partnership between Rahul and Pant yielded 141 runs off 198 balls.

Pant, batted through pain due to the finger injury he suffered while keeping on day one, made his intentions clear even against the express pace of Archer.

Pant and Rahul chose to be watchful for the first 30 minutes, collecting just 14 runs in seven overs.

The runs began to flow when Rahul perfected a punch off the back foot.

Like England had planned for Shubman Gill, the wicket-keeper was brought close to the stumps in an attempt to deter Pant from leaving his crease. The move worked briefly until Pant decided to step up on the offensive.

In between breaks, Pant was nursing his injured finger with the help of physio.

India reached 197 for three in the first hour of play. England had requested for a ball change after the opening hour and the request was approved by the umpires. Rahul had punished Brydon Carse for three successive fours to get a move on his innings.

Pant on other hand pulled Ben Stokes over fine leg to bring up his half-century. His second six of the innings was one hit down the ground off Bashir.