London: Mohammed Siraj sat disconsolate on his haunches in the middle of the Lord’s pitch. A perfectly played backfoot defensive shot off spinner Shoaib Bashir had just rolled back to hit his stumps, 10 minutes into the final session of the third Test, to end India’s hopes. England had held their nerve just enough to win the Test by 22 runs to go 2-1 up in the series. Ollie Pope and England captain Ben Stokes rushed to console Siraj and pull him up on his feet, an image reminiscent of Andrew Flintoff consoling Brett Lee at Edgbaston 20 years ago.Ravindra Jadeja didn’t bring out his customary sword celebration when he slashed Ben Stokes over the slips to bring up his half-century. His eyes were firmly set on the 193-run target. With No. 11 Siraj at the other end, Jadeja was inflicting deep wounds on Stokes’ team. He remained unbeaten on 61 off 181 but the fierce fightback from 112/8 couldn’t prevail over an England team fuelled by Stokes’ tenacity. Lord’s was a cauldron on Monday morning. The dogfight between England and India reached a crescendo on the final day for the third time in as many Tests in this series. Stokes spent every bit of energy to protect his turf. His pack rallied around him to attack the Indian batting ferociously. India would feel they ceded outright advantage on a final day of a Test for the second time in the series.
The last two sessions were about who blinked first. Stokes, adamant to finish the job all by himself, dug deep into his energy reserves with the softer ball. The win came off an innocuous delivery from Bashir but it can be said India eventually submitted to Stokes’ tenacity and unwavering self-belief. Stokes bowled 20 overs across two sessions for figures of 3/48. India took the field at 58/4, with KL Rahul and Rishabh Pant at the crease. Jofra Archer and Brydon Carse came out with a license to kill. They preyed on the Indian batters to reduce them to 112/8 at lunch. Jadeja and Jasprit Bumrah batted nearly the entire second session for a 35-run partnership, tiring the England bowlers on a dying pitch. It took another marathon spell from Stokes to get Bumrah to miscue a pull off a short delivery. Every ball in the first session was an event. Pant got Archer away for a couple of boundaries. And then Archer delivered a thunderbolt that cut away from Pant just enough to send his off-stump cartwheeling. Stokes went on from one end for an hour and 45 minutes in the first session. Archer bowled for an hour. When Stokes nipped one back viciously off the seam and up the slope to trap Rahul for 39, the game seemed to be headed in only one direction. Archer dived to his right to snaffle Washington Sundar off his own bowling for a duck. At 82/7, Archer and Stokes had broken the back of India’s batting.
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The wicked fifth-day pitch looked a lot more venomous than it was. Perhaps, the bad habits of batting on flatter decks on this tour had kicked in. When England batted cautiously, it seemed they had moved away from their ultra-aggressive brand of cricket. On Monday, they did a ‘Bazball’ on India with the ball. London saw grey skies for the first time in a week. The temperatures came down considerably. But Stokes and his bowlers made sure the Indian batters felt the heat throughout the day. England’s assistant coach Marcus Trescothick had claimed on Sunday that they were looking to wrap it up in one hour or so on the final morning. It took a lot longer than that and got too for comfort in the end.
