ENG vs IND: 5 talking points from India’s outing on Day 3 of the Lord’s Test

Day 3 at Lord's had drama, determination, and key contributions with the bat, capped off by rising tension in the final moments. A gripping day that sets up a fascinating Day 4 in this evenly poised Test.

Image Credit : Getty

Highlights of India's outing on Day 3 of the 3rd Test

Day 3 of the third Test between England and Indiaat Lord’s was quite eventful as the proceedings were dominated by the gritty performance of Indian batters and heated exchanges in London on Saturday, July 12.

After bundling out India for 387 and leveling the first-innings total, England posted a total of 2/0, with Zak Crawley and Ben Duckett batting on 2 and 0, and took a slender 2-run lead heading into Day 4. The hosts will have an arduous task of building a competitive lead on a challenging Lord’s pitch against a disciplined Indian bowling attack, as the match heads into the crucial penultimate, with all three results possible.

On that note, let’s take a look at five talking points from India’s outing on Day 3 of the Lord’s Test:

Image Credit : Getty

1. Rishabh Pant’s gritty 74

Rishabh Pant battled through pain in his finger, which he sustained on Day 1 of the Lord’s Test. Though southpaw did not keep on Day 2, but walked out to bat despite the discomfort. Pant joined KL Rahul at the crease after Shubman Gill’s dismissal of 107/3 and remained unbeaten on 19 off 33 balls. On Day 3, the vice-captain carried on his innings and displayed his grit and resilience to stay at the crease despite a finger injury.

Though England seemingly applied bodyline tactics as observed by former India batting legend Sunil Gavaskar during commentary, Rishabh Pant played a courageous knock of 74 off 112 balls, including 8 fours and 2 sixes, while forming a crucial 141-run stand for the fourth wicket with KL Rahul. However, Pant’s valiant innings came to an unfortunate end with a run out.

Image Credit : Getty

2. KL Rahul’s historic Lord’s century

Indian opener KL Rahul stepped up for the side when he was needed the most again. The 33-year-old has been in incredible form, scoring a century and a fifty before registering a second century of the ongoing Test series against England. Rahul was batting on 98 before the Lunch break.

Soon after lunch break, KL Rahul completed his ninth Test century of his career and second at Lord’s. Rahul became just the Indian batter after former captain Dilip Vengsarkar to score two centuries at the iconic venue. The opener scored his first Lord’s Test century in 2021, when he played a brilliant innings of 129 off 250 balls. Rahul’s second Lord’s Test century is his 4th Test ton in England, which is the joint second most by an Indian along with Rishabh Pant, Sachin Tendulkar, and Vengsarkar.

Image Credit : Getty

3. Ravindra Jadeja’s fifty in the third successive innings

Ravindra Jadeja has made quite a contribution to India’s batting in the last three innings of the ongoing Test series against England. After scoring twin fifties (89 and 69*) at Edgbaston, the southpaw brought yet another fifty in the third innings on the trot, continuing his rich vein of form.

Coming out to bat at No.6 after Rishabh Pant’s dismissal at 254/4, Jadeja played a crucial innings of 72 off 131 balls to take Team India past the 350-run mark, along with a 72-run stand for the sixth wicket with Nitish Kumar Reddy (30) and a 50-run partnership for the seventh wicket with Washington Sundar (23), which helped India wipe out the deceit and draw level with England’s first-innings total of 387.

Image Credit : Getty

4. Washington Sundar’s crucial lower-order batting

Washington Sundar has once again proved why he deserves to be in the playing XI for the ongoing Test series against England. In his first Test of the series at Edgbaston, the spin bowling all-rounder was quite impactful with his willow, scoring 42 and an unbeaten 12*, helping Team India set a massive 608-run target for England to chase.

In the first innings of the Lord’s Test, Sundar walked out to bat when India were trailing by 61 runs against England’s first innings total of 387. The southpaw yet again produced an impactful performance in the lower order, scoring 23 off 76 balls and forming a crucial 50-run stand for the seventh wicket to take India past the 350-run mark and reduce the deficit against England’s first innings total. Washington Sundar batted till his dismissal at 387, leveling the hosts’ first-innings total.

Image Credit : Getty

5. Shubman Gill vs Zak Crawley heated exchange

With an over left for the day’s play, Team India skipper Shubman Gill and England opener Zak Crawley were involved in a heated exchange. The incident took place in the first over of England’s second innings when Crawley suddenly backed out while Jasprit Bumrah was running in for the third delivery.

This infuriated Shubman Gill, who believed that Crawley was deliberately ‘wasting time’ and disrupting the rhythm of Bumrah, who was at his menacing best. Gill aggressively walked up to Zak Crawley and heard him say, ‘Grow some f***ing balls’ as he was angry over his tactics of slowing down the game. After the Indian skipper fumed at Crawley, other Indian players, including Mohammed Siraj, riled up the England opener with a few words.