Team India's 22-run loss to England at Lord's marks a turning point in the Test series. Despite strong bowling and individual performances, batting collapses and tactical errors led to the defeat, leaving India trailing 1-2 in the five-match series.
Team India had a ‘so close yet so far’ moment with their heartbreaking 22-run defeat to England in the third Test of the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy at Lord’s in London on Monday, July 14.
With a 193-run target, Team India failed to chase it down as they were bundled out for 170 in 74.5 overs on the final day of the Lord’s Test. England managed to seal a dramatic victory in the final session despite strong resistance and valiance from Ravindra Jadeja amid the visitors’ batting collapse. With the Lord’s Test defeat, India are currently trailing 1-2 in the five-match series against England.
On that note, let’s take a look at 5 key takeaways from India’s defeat in the Lord’s Test:
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1. Rishabh Pant Battled Through Pain
Rishabh Pant sustained an injury on his left index finger on Day 1, which kept him away from wicketkeeping duties, and Dhruv Jurel stepped in to keep the wickets in his absence. However, the southpaw walked out to bat in both innings of the Lord’s Test. In the first innings, Pant scored a gritty 74 off 121 balls and formed a 141-run stand with KL Rahul (100 off 177 balls). After Day 3, Rahul revealed at the press conference that vice-captain was batting with pain in his finger.
However, Rishabh Pant was not at his best performance in India’s 193-run chase as he was bowled out for 7 by Jofra Archer. The 27-year-old was seemingly not 100% fit to play as he was constantly removing his left hand from the grip of his bat, indicating that the injury was affecting his ability to play a natural game.
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2. Missed Opportunity to Leverage Bowling Effort
Indian bowlers, including Washington Sundar, Mohammed Siraj, Jasprit Bumrah, and Aakash Deep, delivered a fiery performance to dismantle England's batting line-up and bundle the hosts for a mere 192. The Indian bowling attack went all blazing guns against England as the hosts failed to put up significant resistance in the second innings.
When Indian bowlers bundled out England for 192, it was seen as a golden opportunity to take a 2-1 lead in the five-match series by chasing a 193-run target. However, the Indian batters failed to complement the efforts of their bowlers, who put in a tremendous shift throughout the match. A straightforward chase turned into a dramatic collapse.
Chasing a 193-run target, Team India suffered an early collapse as they lost three wickets of Yashasvi Jaiswal (0), Karun Nair (14), and Shubman Gill (6) for 53 runs in 15 overs. Despite the visitors being in a critical situation and England bowlers smelling blood under the Lord’s lights, team management made a puzzling decision to send a nightwatchman, Akash Deep, to bat at No.5.
However, the decision completely backfired as Akash Deep succumbed to Ben Stokes’ fullish length ball delivery that rattled his stumps before Day 4 stumps. Had India sent Ravindra Jadeja or Rishabh Pant to bat instead of Akash Deep as a nightwatchman, they could have steadied the innings and absorbed the pressure better.
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4. India Batters Failed in a Big Way
In the Headingley and Edgbaston Tests, Team India did not bat in the fourth innings as they batted first and played in the third innings, avoiding the pressure of a fourth-innings chase. This time, the tables turned on them at Lord’s as India were asked to bat second by England skipper Ben Stokes. For the first time in the ongoing Test series, Team India faced a run chase in the fourth innings.
Though a 193-run target seemed achievable, but Indian top and middle order batters failed to deliver in a big way. After collapsing to 58/4 at the end of Day 4, the visitors suffered a further batting debacle in the morning session on Day 5, as they were further reduced to 82/7 following dismissals of KL Rahul (39), Rishabh Pant (7), and Washington Sundar (0).
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5. Ravindra Jadeja Stood Tall as a Lone Warrior
Amid a collapse in India’s batting line-up, Ravindra Jadeja was keeping a glimmer of hope of chasing down a 193-run target. After Nitish Kumar Reddy’s dismissal at 112/8, Jadeja was carrying the visitors’ fading hopes and had only two talinders - Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj, for company. He stitched a gritty 36-run stand for the ninth wicket with Jasprit Bumrah (5 off 54 balls).
Eventually, Jadeja’s valiant efforts went down in drain as Mohammed Siraj was bowled out by Shoaib Bashir as India’s final wicket in hand. The southpaw played a gritty innings of 61 off 181 balls, including 4 balls and a six. In the first innings, Jadeja scored 72 off 131 balls, which proved crucial for India, leveling England’s first-innings total of 387.
