ENG vs IND: India Aim to Continue Sub-200 Run Chase Winning Record against England in the Lord's Test
Synopsis
India face a tricky 135-run chase at Lord's, with past sub-200 chases yielding mixed results. Despite a solid batting line-up still to come, the early loss of four wickets on Day 4 has put the visitors under pressure to clinch a crucial series lead.
Ahead of Day 5 of the third Test between India and England at Home of Cricket, the Indian team is in a disadvantaged spot as they finished Day four on 58/4 while chasing 193 runs on Sunday.
Before the ongoing Lord's Test, Team India had chased targets of 200 or less on 58 occasions.
Their record includes 46 wins, eight draws & four losses. They have lost chasing 200 or less (120 Bridgetown 1997, 176 Galle 2015, 194 Birmingham 2018, & 147 Mumbai 2024).
India's record of chasing a below 200-run target vs England in Tests
India have won nine times while chasing against England targets of 200 or less, while they have lost and drawn a match each.
Their most recent defeat against England while chasing targets of 200 or less was back in 2018 in Birmingham, despite a brilliant hundred in the first innings by former Indian skipper Virat Kohli, India fell short of 31 runs. Sam Curran was named player of the match for this all-around performance.
135 runs separate India from edging past England at the Home of Cricket on Day 5. The team that will win here will have an upper hand over the other in the ongoing series as they will take a 2-1 lead with two Tests remaining in the series, which will take place at Old Trafford, Manchester, and The Oval, London, respectively.
India's Lord's Test victory hanging in the balance
At the end of the day's play, KL was left unscathed at 33*. While stars like Rishabh Pant, Ravindra Jadeja, Nitish Kumar Reddy, and Washington Sundar are yet to come and deliver their services as batters, losing four wickets this early has put India under severe pressure.
On the fifth day, India have a slight edge over the Three Lions as there is still a long batting lineup left in the bank. Pant is in really good form as he scored 74(112) in the first innings.
After Pant, India also have the likes of Ravindra Jadeja, who also played a crucial knock in the first innings of the Lord's test match where he scored 72(131).
India also have players like Nitish Kumar Reddy and Washington Sundar who can be handy with the bat for the visitors.
For England, Brydon Carse is in terrific form as he picked two crucial wickets of right-hand batter Karun Nair (14) and captain Shubman Gill (6) in the last 30 minutes of the fourth day of the Test match.