In an intriguing exhibition of Test cricket that had spectators on the edge of their seats for almost five days, England came out on top by a narrow 22-run margin, edging past a gritty Indian team at Lord's on Monday to secure a 2-1 advantage in the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy series.
Beginning the last day at a wobbly 58/4, the Indian batting order buckled under the continuing pressure of England's pacers. At the lunch break, India had lost eight wickets, and were on the verge of being bowled out.
But Ravindra Jadeja remained steadfast amidst the mayhem, building a gritty unbeaten 61 off 181 balls. His stubborn refusal, aided temporarily by the tail-enders, took India tantalizingly close to achieving an unlikely victory. The innings finally collapsed to 170 in 74.5 overs.
England's bowling attack was led by skipper Ben Stokes and Jofra Archer, who both took three wickets after bowling 24 and 16 overs respectively. Brydon Carse added two dismissals, while Chris Woakes and Shoaib Bashir—despite carrying a left finger injury—snagged one wicket each. The hosts' resolute bowling and street-smart mentality guaranteed a breathtaking victory, astonishingly on the first anniversary of their 2019 ODI World Cup victory in this very same ground.
With both sides tied at 387 runs each in the first innings, England's second innings produced 192 runs, giving India a total that, for a short time, seemed attainable. The last session had Jadeja and Mohammed Siraj going through a combination of stingy defense and bold singles, edging towards the target under heavy pressure.
But destiny turned on the fifth ball of the 75th over. Bashir's delivery curved sharply, coming off Siraj's bat before creeping onto the stumps and knocking over the leg bail. The wicket sealed England's incredible victory and ignited celebrations in the field, and the Indian camp had to ponder what might have been.
Match Summary:
England 387 & 192 beat India 387 & 170 all out in 74.5 overs (Ravindra Jadeja 61; KL Rahul 39; Ben Stokes 3-48, Jofra Archer 3-55) by 22 runs.*
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