KL Rahul after scoring a century vs Endland at Lord's 2025
Morning session - the hunt of India starts
England had reached 387 all out in the first innings and India started Day 3 at a desire to equalize. India adopted a tentative approach in the early innings, carefully not wanting to fall into the trap of short-pitched bowling of Jofra Archer and Chris Woakes by England. KL Rahul and Rishabh Pant started very safely and slowly but surely they started to cut the deficit, and any loose delivery was punished. England had their fielders and Joe Root had stood up to the stumps to Woakes trying to tie Pant in his crease early. Nevertheless, Pant managed to score runs with sharp flicks and square-drives, even a boundary on the first ball of an over by Archer Rahul was especially vintage, in control and timing, as he was cruising to his second Test century in Lord and as he became the second Indian after Dilip Vengsarkar to score two hundreds at Lord India were well into their response by lunch and most of the story was pegged on the Rahul-Pant duo. Just before lunch - critical point
At the time when India were still behind by more than 130 and well-established, there was an expensive mistake. In a small moment of communication breakdown Rahul asked Pant a single so that Pant could stay in strike to get his own hundred. Pant was rather run out by a spectacular throw by Ben Stokes with him about a run short of his fifty, completing an alliance of 141 runs .
Former England pacer Steve Harmison termed that dismissal as a huge lifeline to England
Rahul was also soon dismissed in his centurion knock, out 100 and out, caught edging Shoaib Bashir a bit after lunch time- the 100th time in Test history a batter was dismissed exactly on 100
Afternoon session- Jadeja and Reddy balancing out the boat
The loss of the first two wickets created some pressure and Ravindra Jadeja (72) along with the Nitish Kumar Reddy helped steady the ship. They had a partnership of 72 runs and slowly chipping down the deficit
During this period, Stokes intervened once again- he sent Reddy back just after tea so as to separate the two and make India record fewer chances of overtaking easily
Reddy had already been struck on the helmet during the earlier session by one of the bouncers of Stokes and this made the task more uncomfortable
Meanwhile Shoaib Bashir who previously took the wicket of Rahul was injured in his finger after being hit by a shot of Jadeja. Bashir was forced to retire the field, and his position in continuing to play could not be guaranteed-a big blow as he was increasingly becoming instrumental in the insipid bowling of the England team
Late session - India reduce the deficit:
As the scoreboard crept along, India finally finished their innings against 387, which was the same score that England had scored. A spirited lower-order resistance was provided through Washington Sundar and Akash Deep with Jadeja being the last man at the crease until Archer could trap Sundar at 23 to end the innings
The Comaback of Jofra Archer was memorable all the way he bowled regularly quicker than 90 mph and provided the breakthroughs at the end to bring the contest to a deadlock .Chris Woakes too helped in three crucial wickets whereas Ben Stokes also helped in the fielding department as well as bowling variations.
Rishabh Pant, who had walked in with an injured finger, demonstrated braveness and unmatched aggression. He hit 74 runs and several records on Day 3, even though he was not feeling comfortable, beating the record of the late Vivian Richards of most sixes in a Test series in England, equaling Rohit Sharma in six-hitting, and surpassing MS Dhoni in career Test runs as an Indian wicketkeeper in England. He also became the first visiting wicketkeeper‑batter to compile more than in a Test Series in England
Closing stage - the match balanced on a knife‑edge:
England started their second innings at stumps with 2 Run Without wickets, and , thus having a narrow 2-run lead. Openers Zak Crawley and Ben Duckett were left stranded and with all ten wickets still in hand in the second innings, the Test had turned out to be a de facto one‑innings shootout with everything still in the balance
Field tensions were brewing in the fourth session: Crawley and Duckett were frustrating Indian players with their rearguard batsmanship, which was met by quiet appeals of the fielders, an early indicator of mind games in the final two days Tensions were rising on the field: Crawley and Duckett were frustrating Indian players with their rearguard batsmanship, and the fielders were protesting quietly, an early indicator of mind games in the final two days There were windups and time wasting stunts that spiced up an atmosphere that was already very tense.
Key Takeaways From Day 3
Top performances
- Opening batsman KL Rahul hit 100 off 177 balls and entered the exclusive club of multiple-century makers as he became only the second Indian to score 2 centuries at Lord s
- Unbeaten and relentless: Rishabh Pant, with a hand injury, scored 74 with several sixes to his name and broke several records as well
- Ravindra Jadeja pitched in with a timely 72 holding the middle order in two important stands .
- Pant's Run-out just before lunch , confusion originated by Rahul, a game changing moment that took away momentum
- Shoaib Bashir's injury, which takes away an important bowling option to England near the end of the innings
- The match is in a very balanced position with the series even and both teams in a deadlock at 387 at the end of the first innings.
- England have made a tentative start to their second innings and they are barely ahead, and India will feel they have a chance in the late evening.
- The pendulum has been swinging one way and then the other- India has fought back with a vengeance, England has scored crucial wickets and the remaining two days are going to be filled with dramatic moments.
On to Day 4
As the game turns into a one-innings affair and both teams have a chance with all the possibilities, Day 4 is bound to bring defining moments, will England use their narrow advantage with the bat or will India go all out and take the initiative? Stay tuned.
Brief Scores: England 387 & 2/0 (Zak Crawley 2*) lead India 387 (KL Rahul 100, Rishabh Pant 74, Ravindra Jadeja 72; Chris Woakes 3/84, Jofra Archer 2/52, Ben Stokes 2/63) by 2 runs.