India wrapped up Day Two of the third Test of the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy behind England by 242 runs, closing on 145/3 in 43 overs at Lord's courtesy KL Rahul's gritty unbeaten 53.
Rahul displayed endurance and grit in his 113-ball vigil at the crease, hitting five fours and calming the innings against a relentless English attack.
Supported by Rishabh Pant, who is not out on 19 with a finger injury, Rahul continues to be key to India's chances of reducing the deficit to England's first innings aggregate of 387.
Earlier in the day, Jasprit Bumrah bowled a masterclass performance, taking 5 for 74 in 27 overs. It marked his 13th five-wicket haul in Tests and his second at Lord's, moving him ahead of Kapil Dev to be the Indian record holder of most five-fors away from home conditions.
Joe Root's masterful 104 — his 37th Test century, his 11th against India, and his eighth at Lord's — anchored England's innings. But at 271/7, the hosts were cornered until Jamie Smith and Brydon Carse combined an 84-run eighth-wicket partnership. Smith scored 51, after receiving an early let-off when Rahul dropped him at slip, while Carse registered his first Test fifty with a 56 beautifully constructed. India also lost 31 extras in the innings.
Root completed his hundred with a boundary off Bumrah in the first ball of the day, passing Rahul Dravid and Steve Smith in the all-time list of Test centurions. But Bumrah came back with a devastating ball to dismiss Ben Stokes, removing the off-stump in an out-and-out pace moment. He later got Root out with a slightly fuller delivery which jagged in a bit, prompting the England captain to chop onto his stumps.
Chris Woakes was next to edge a Bumrah ball while probing uncertainly outside off. The on-field umpire's call was overturned using the DRS, providing India with their third success of the morning. Rahul's drop of Smith at second slip cost them dearly, as India could not make the most of the opportunity. To add insult to injury, the Indian team had the ball changed just 10.3 overs into its usage.
The second new ball ended India's roll of momentum, with Smith launching the attack against both Siraj and Bumrah, compelling yet another ball change in just 48 deliveries. With India adopting the defensive approach, Carse gained confidence, trading boundaries with singles to underpin Smith, who hammered his half-century in 52 deliveries in a single through backward square leg.
England scored 353/7 at lunch, and India responded swiftly after the interval as Siraj got a nick from Smith, which was gathered by stand-in wicketkeeper Dhruv Jurel. Carse handled a couple of boundaries off Bumrah before Indian pacer completed his five-bowling haul by knocking over Jofra Archer with a full skidding delivery. Siraj then wrapped up the innings by bowling Carse around his legs with a full ball.
India's reply started with aplomb, Jaiswal driving Woakes wide of cover and then hitting two further boundaries — one off an inside edge and the other clipped fine. But on his Test return, Jofra Archer broke in straight away to remove Jaiswal with a late-seaming delivery that got the edge, nicely taken by Harry Brook at slip.
Rahul was calm at the other end, demonstrating perfect judgment near his off-stump. Karun Nair had a patchy beginning, negotiating incisive seam from Archer but sorted himself out with back-to-back boundaries — a fine drive and an inside edge that went in off an edge — before the tea break.
After tea, Nair went on smoothly, took Carse apart through the covers, and cut him behind point for another boundary. Rahul played along with a well-timed drive off Stokes and then endured an lbw review, which England lost.
The second Indian wicket was courtesy Joe Root's brilliance behind the slip cordon. He took a breathtaking one-handed diving catch to dismiss Nair for 40 off the bowling of Stokes — a catch that placed Root above Rahul Dravid's record of 210 catches in Tests, leaving him with 211.
Shubman Gill, on the other hand, was defensive to the extent of giving nothing but a dead bat to England's probing line. England's tight field placement and a keeper standing up to the stumps worked, as a wobble-seam ball from Woakes found Gill's edge and Smith finished off the catch behind.
Pant, with a bruised left index finger, was intent on positive play, hitting three boundaries off Shoaib Bashir, one of them a powerful drive over mid-wicket. Rahul went quietly to his half-century off 97 balls, and the pair navigated India to stumps in a determined bid to launch a fightback.
Brief Scores:
England: 387 all out in 112.3 overs (Joe Root 104, Brydon Carse 56; Jasprit Bumrah 5-74, Nitish Kumar Reddy 2-62)
India: 145/3 in 43 overs (KL Rahul 53*, Karun Nair 40; Ben Stokes 1-16, Jofra Archer 1-22)
India are behind by: 242 runs
Read also| Tennis Player Radhika Yadav Shot by Father While She Was Cooking Breakfast
Read also| Gautam Gambhir Fires Back at Virat Kohli over Criticism of BCCI’s Family Rule
