England pull off a thrilling 22-run win over India in third Test at Lord's

Dubai: The stage was set for a dramatic finale, and the third Test at Lord’s more than lived up to its billing. England pulled off a thrilling 22-run win in the final session on Monday, despite a heroic unbeaten 61 from Ravindra Jadeja, to lead the five-match series 2-1.

Chasing 193 for a memorable victory, India were bowled out for 170 in their second innings, after both teams had posted identical scores of 387 in the first innings. Jadeja, battling alone in the final hour, kept India afloat with his fourth consecutive half-century of the series, but ran out of partners in the end.

The match, which had swung wildly over five days, tilted decisively in England’s favour during the final session on Sunday and Monday morning, when India slumped from 71 for four to 82 for seven. The defining blow came when Shoaib Bashir, despite a visible injury to his left hand, ended Mohammed Siraj’s resistance with a delivery that spun sharply and cannoned into the stumps after perfect defence.

“I’m extremely proud — this is as close as Test cricket gets. We were pretty confident this morning with plenty of batting left. We just needed a couple of partnerships at the top, but couldn’t string them together,” Indian skipper Shubman Gill told the broadcasters during the presentation ceremony.

“Credit to England — they played better than us. But there’s always hope. The target wasn’t massive; one good partnership could have brought us back into the game. Things turned quickly in the last hour on Sunday, and looking back, we could have applied ourselves a bit better.”

India were reduced to 112 for eight by lunch, and though Jadeja farmed the strike expertly with Jasprit Bumrah and Siraj, the pressure proved too much. In the end, India’s luck — after surviving multiple close calls — finally ran out.

Jadeja’s innings was built on steely patience and sharp game awareness. He shared vital lower-order partnerships, including a 30-run stand with debutant Nitish Kumar Reddy, who looked solid before edging Chris Woakes behind on the stroke of lunch. Former India coach Ravi Shastri termed Reddy’s dismissal a “killer blow” that shifted the momentum for good.

“India would have been thinking, ‘we have a 30-run partnership and if we can stretch this for another half an hour or so, then the deficit will be about 60’,” said Shastri on broadcast. “I thought after a while, one of the two batters should have taken the attack a bit more.”

Resuming on 58 for four, India had placed their hopes on KL Rahul and Rishabh Pant. Rahul, who scored a century in the first innings, was trapped lbw by Ben Stokes after adding just six runs to his overnight 33. Archer delivered a gem of a ball to bowl Pant, who had just dispatched him for a boundary.

Washington Sundar fell shortly after for a duck, caught and bowled off a sharp Archer return catch, as India slipped into deeper trouble. The Archer and Stokes finished with three wickets each.

Archer’s return to Test cricket after four years of injury setbacks was hailed as a game-changer. Former England pacer Stuart Broad said the speedster “brought theatre” to the contest.

“Test match cricket is about bringing theatre, and Jofra did all of that,” Broad said on Sky Sports. “He was amazing… the emotions he will be getting from bowling spells like this — running in, crowd roaring, Test match on the line — are great.”

“He was having words with the batters, and that may cost him a few quid,” he quipped.

Ultimately, it was England’s resilience and superior execution in crunch moments that sealed the win, denying India what would have been a famous comeback victory at Lord’s.