Jadeja's one-man show ends in heartbreak at Lord's

LONDON: A dogged India battled till the last but fell short of a victory in the Mecca of cricket. Chasing a target of 193 runs in the second innings, India resumed batting at 58/4 on the final day and were all out for 170 runs. Ravindra Jadeja, who remained unbeaten on 61, stood like a bulwark amidst a fierce England bowling attack. Jadeja faced 181 balls and was on the crease for a total of 266 minutes. With the win, England took a 2-1 lead in the series. The fourth Test begins in Manchester on the 23rd of this month.

India came out on the last day with six wickets in hand and needed 135 runs to win. But crucial wickets fell like a pack of cards, leaving all the heavy work to Jadeja. Rishabh Pant came in to start the game on Monday morning along with KL Rahul. Jofra Archer bowled Rishabh Pant (9) in the third over of the morning. The scoreboard was then 71 runs. Within a span of just 10 more runs, KL Rahul had returned to the pavilion while the score was embarrassingly at 81/6. Archer caught Washington Sundar (0) in the next over. With this, Ravindra Jadeja and Nitish Kumar Reddy came together at the crease while India was struggling at 82/7.

The two patiently faced the test of the English bowlers and added 30 runs together. When the team score reached 112, Nitish (13) was dismissed by Chris Woakes, leaving India under pressure again. After tea, Jadeja, who joined Bumrah, stood firm like a rock at one end. However, Bumrah, who faced 54 balls, was dismissed by Stokes with the team score at 147.

Siraj, who came out at number 11, held on with a tough defence until tea. After completing his half-century, Jadeja tried big shots to take it to 163. However, Shoaib Bashir bowled Siraj, who scored four runs in 30 balls, to cut short India’s would-be miraculous comeback at Lord's.