What started as a promising Day 5 for India quickly turned into a tense battle for survival, as they collapsed from a position of strength to fall just short of a famous win in the third Test against England at Lord’s. Chasing a modest target of 135 with six wickets in hand, India appeared to be within touching distance of victory. But a dramatic first session saw four wickets tumble, and the chase spiraled into a desperate struggle.
Amidst the chaos, Ravindra Jadeja stood tall with a gritty effort, nearly pulling off a miraculous win. His fight, backed by the lower order, gave India a glimmer of hope. But ultimately, the visitors were bowled out for 170 in 74.5 overs agony etched in the finality of “so close, yet so far.”
England’s charge was led by captain Ben Stokes and Jofra Archer, who each claimed three wickets, bowling 24 and 16 relentless overs respectively. Brydon Carse chipped in with two key scalps, while Chris Woakes removed the dogged Nitish Kumar Reddy right before lunch, tightening the screws on India.
Former Indian skipper Sunil Gavaskar pointed to the lack of meaningful partnerships as the decisive factor.
“A stand of 60 or 70 runs would have changed the game. India never managed that,” Gavaskar said on Sony Sports. “Jadeja could have taken a few more calculated risks rather than lofting the ball unnecessarily against Joe Root and Shoaib Bashir. But you have to give him full credit for the fight.”
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Under grey skies and persistent swing, Rishabh Pant tried to counterattack early on, flicking Archer for an early boundary. Battling an injured bottom hand, he bravely faced Archer’s relentless pace. After a glorious one-handed drive for four, Archer had his revenge beating Pant’s outside edge and flattening his off stump with a lethal delivery.
Soon after, Stokes struck with one of the balls of the match. He got one to jag back sharply and trap KL Rahul in front. The on-field umpire ruled it not out, but Stokes reviewed and replays confirmed the ball was crashing into the top of middle and off. England erupted.
Then came a moment of brilliance from Archer, who dived in his follow-through to pull off a stunning one-handed catch and dismiss Washington Sundar for a duck, leaving India reeling at 82/7.
Jadeja and Reddy then dug in, carefully rotating the strike and picking their moments. As the ball lost its zip, the pair managed to push India past 100. Reddy survived a collision with Carse and nearly chopped onto his stumps, but he held firm and broke an 80-ball boundary drought with a crisp drive through cover.
But just as India appeared to be clawing back, Woakes delivered a telling blow on the stroke of lunch-angling a short ball from wide of the crease to find Reddy’s outside edge. Jamie Smith made no mistake behind the stumps.
With only two wickets left to claim after lunch, England closed in and sealed a hard-fought, memorable victory, leaving India to reflect on what might have been.
