KL Rahul ensured India ended Day Two of the third Test of the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy series with a hard-fought 53 not out as the visitors trail England by 242 runs after reaching 145/3 in 43 overs at stumps at the Lord's here on Friday.
Rahul was at his patient and determined best to hit five boundaries in his knock coming off 113 balls, especially in the face of England’s bowlers asking tough questions off him and the Indian batters. With Rishabh Pant by his side on 19 not out, Rahul will hold the key for India to inch closer to England’s first innings total of 387, with Jasprit Bumrah claiming 5-74 in his 27 overs.
Bumrah, playing just his second Test match at Lord’s, picked his 13th five-wicket haul at the iconic venue and has now gone past the legendary Kapil Dev to hold the record for most five-fors picked by an Indian bowler in overseas conditions.
Despite Joe Root making 104 - his 37th Test century, 11th against India and eighth at Lord's, England were in trouble at 271/7 before Smith and Brydon Carse added 84 runs for the eighth wicket to keep the hosts in high spirits on a slow pitch and a scorching day.
While Smith made 51, after being dropped by Rahul on five, Carse hit 56 – his maiden Test fifty, as England were also aided by India conceding 31 extras. The day began with Root carving Bumrah behind square for four to get his 37th Test ton off the first ball of the morning session and go past Rahul Dravid and Steve Smith on the overall centurions list.
But Bumrah came back to castle Stokes with an absolute corker, getting one to angle in from around the wicket and hit top of off-stump with so much ferocity that it was knocked out of the ground. Bumrah then got Root out for the 11th time in Tests with a full delivery which nipped in a touch and Root chopped on to his stumps to fall for 104.
One brought two for Bumrah as he caught the outside edge on a tentative poke by Chris Woakes, and was given out only after India went upstairs for the review. India could have got another wicket if Jamie Smith hadn’t dropped by KL Rahul at second slip, with the visitors also managing to get the new ball changed after just 10.3 overs.
That ball change brought a halt to India’s wicket-taking spree as Smith took three boundaries off Siraj and Bumrah before India had another ball change after just 48 deliveries. With Smith leading a strong lower-order fightback and India spreading their field, Carse began to grow in confidence by taking boundaries off pacers and singles to bring up fifty of the eighth wicket stand.
Smith then creamed an off-drive off Nitish Kumar Reddy, before bringing up his fifty off 52 balls with a single through backward square leg, as England reached 353/7 at lunch. India struck immediately after the lunch interval, as Siraj had Smith playing away from his body and nicked behind to substitute keeper Dhruv Jurel.
After Carse hit two boundaries off Bumrah, the pacer bounced back to complete his five-wicket haul with the one coming in and keeping low to shatter Archer’s stumps. Siraj wrapped up England’s innings by bowling Carse around his legs with a fuller ball.
India began their innings on a bright note by cracking a short and wide ball from Chris Woakes through cover for four. Jaiswal then edged Woakes wide of gully for another four, before clipping him behind square to take his third boundary. But his joyride was cut short by Jofra Archer, who struck on the third ball of his Test comeback.
Archer squared up Jaiswal with late movement, and the outside edge was caught by Harry Brook at slip. A calm Rahul, armed with sound judgement of his off-stump and the deliveries around it, hung around with his soft hands and precise decision-making.
Nair, on the other hand, had to survive some outstanding seam movement before getting consecutive fours off a fiery Archer – via a drive through mid-off and a glove edge wide of close-in fielders, before the tea break came.
The final session began with Karun Nair beautifully driving Carse through cover for four, before slicing him behind point for another boundary. On the other hand, Rahul leaned into the drive off Ben Stokes to bisect mid-off and cover beautifully for four, before surviving an lbw appeal off Stokes, as England also burnt a review.
Root then played a central role in England getting its second wicket, as he took a stunning one-handed diving catch at slip to dismiss Nair off Stokes’ bowling for 40. The catch also helped Root (211) go past Rahul Dravid (210) to take the record for most catches in Tests.
Even as Rahul kept his calm while flicking and glancing for picking boundaries, Shubman Gill endured a slow start by just defending everything coming his way from England’s bowlers. England’s ploy of having the wicketkeeper stand up to his stumps and have close catchers around worked wonders when Woakes’ wobble-seam delivery took a defending Gill’s edge, and the feather edge was caught behind by Smith.
With Pant, coming out after suffering a left index finger injury, hitting three quick boundaries off Shoaib Bashir, including a swipe over mid-wicket to perfection, Rahul brought up his fifty off 97 balls and maintained his zen-like composure till stumps arrived on a fascinating day of Test cricket.
Brief scores:
England 387 in 112.3 overs (Joe Root 104, Brydon Carse 56; Jasprit Bumrah 5-74, Nitish Kumar Reddy 2-62) lead India 145/3 in 43 overs (KL Rahul 53 not out, Karun Nair 40; Ben Stokes 1-16, Jofra Archer 1-22) by 242 runs
Picture Courtesy: IANS
