A dramatic final day awaits in the third Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy Test at Lord’s, with England seizing momentum late on day four by reducing India to 58/4 in 17.4 overs, chasing a modest target of 193 on Sunday.
In a gripping day that saw 14 wickets tumble, off-spinning all-rounder Washington Sundar delivered a standout performance, claiming 4-22 through disciplined drift and pinpoint accuracy to wrap up England’s second innings for 192 in 62.1 overs.
Joe Root top-scored with 40, but his dismissal by Sundar just before the tea break sparked a collapse, as England slumped from 154/4 to 192 all out.
India's bowlers carried out their plans to perfection, employing the new ball well and making the most of uneven bounce. Complementing Sundar's heroics, Mohammed Siraj and Jasprit Bumrah took two wickets each, while Nitish Kumar Reddy and Akash Deep contributed one each, forcing England's lower order to be without any fight.
With 193 to win to secure a 2-1 series lead in the five-match series, India collapsed late, losing three wickets in the last half-hour — including Akash Deep to Ben Stokes on the final delivery of the day — tipping the balance in England's direction going into a make-or-break day five.
India's hopes now lie on the first-innings centurion KL Rahul, who is unbeaten on 33. They will hope that he leads the chase and the team through the remaining 135 runs in what should be a thrilling conclusion.
India's run-chase began in fits and starts as Yashasvi Jaiswal, rattled by the first over from Chris Woakes, was dismissed for a duck. He miscued a short, wide delivery straight up in the air, Jamie Smith taking the catch off Jofra Archer.
Rahul started in style, opening his account with a classy flick through fine leg off Archer for four. He was given a scare when Woakes could not hold on to a caught-and-bowled opportunity. Finding his groove soon enough, Rahul impressed with short, accurate backfoot punches, square drives, and gentle touches past gully for four fours.
But wickets continued falling at the other end. Karun Nair erred in judgment against a nip-backer by Brydon Carse and was lbw trapped. Skipper Shubman Gill, also seeming out of sorts, was hit on the knee roll by another searing in-ducker from Carse, with ball-tracking verifying that it would have struck middle stump.
Amid a raucous Lord’s crowd, Stokes produced a beauty on the final ball of the day to beat Akash Deep’s outside edge and knock back his off-stump, boosting England’s morale for the final push.
Earlier during the day, India's fast-bowling battery once more capitalized on the new ball, inducting some uncertainty into England's batters. Bumrah induced one to rear back from a length and hit Zak Crawley's top hand. Even as a catch nearly came about, the ball just slipped past him. Siraj too ruffled Crawley with a wobble seam ball, and even though India lost a review, it reflected their intent.
Crawley answered with a boundary over Bumrah, and Ben Duckett also added another off Siraj. Duckett did not last long trying for a pull shot, skyed to mid-on. Siraj, who was agitated after an exchange of words the day before, celebrated loudly in Duckett's face.
Bumrah continued threatening with added bounce, and Siraj maintained his red-hot form by getting Ollie Pope lbw with a wobble ball. Even though the fielding judgment was not out, captain Gill was convinced to refer — and the replay indicated that the ball would strike the top of middle stump, ending Pope's four-ball stint.
Reddy then lured Crawley into a drive, with Jaiswal finishing a swift catch at gully to get him back for 22. Harry Brook tried a quick counterattack, notching two boundaries and a lofted six off Akash Deep. But his adventurous game ended in his favour as a sweep attempt resulted in his middle stump being hoisted by the same bowler, getting him just 23.
After lunch, Root and Stokes contributed useful runs, taking England past 100. Stokes picked boundaries off both Bumrah and Siraj, who kept producing awkward bounce. Extras helped England as well, and Root just survived an lbw call on leg stump that was given umpire's call.
India took charge back with Sundar getting rid of the 67-run partnership by bowling Root, who had over-swept and was caught out by drift, losing his leg stump.
Sundar struck again soon, drifting one away from Jamie Smith and knocking over his off-stump for eight. The session moved India's way again.
And as the last session started, Stokes escaped a run-out opportunity when Gill missed a straight hit from mid-on. Stokes then connected well with a sweep off Sundar for four. But the same was attempted and paid dearly — Sundar slipped one underneath the bat to bowl Stokes for 33.
Bumrah came back with venom, mopping up Carse with a precise yorker down leg stump for a single. Pacing some pain, Bumrah gritted it out — relying on a calf spray and sleeve — to produce a brilliant nip-backer that found the gap in Woakes' defence and clipped the stumps for 10.
Sundar appropriately concluded England's innings by discomfiting Archer's outside edge with additional drift and knocking over the off-stump — becoming the 12th English batsman to be bowled in this Test. With England rallying back to take four Indian wickets until stumps, the game is well and truly set for a dramatic finish.
Brief Scores:
England: 387 & 192 in 62.1 overs (Joe Root 40, Ben Stokes 33; Washington Sundar 4-22, Mohammed Siraj 2-31)
India: 387 & 58/4 in 17.4 overs (KL Rahul 33*; Brydon Carse 2-11)
England by 135 runs
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