Jadeja's valiant effort falls short as England win thriller at Lord’s

ENGLAND defeated India by 22 runs on the final day of the third test at Lord’s on Monday to take a 2-1 lead in the five-match series.

The match ended when Shoaib Bashir bowled Mohammed Siraj for four. Siraj had tried to defend the ball, but it rolled off his bat and hit the stumps, leaving him looking back in disbelief. As England players celebrated, Ravindra Jadeja remained unbeaten on 61 and walked off after coming close to pulling off a remarkable win for India.

Earlier in the day, England were in control, reducing India to 112-8 at lunch while defending a target of 193. But Jadeja and Jasprit Bumrah added resistance, battling for nearly two hours and taking India close.

Late fight from Jadeja and Bumrah

Jadeja was given out lbw to Chris Woakes, but the decision was overturned on review. He followed it up with a six over mid-wicket, drawing loud cheers from Indian fans. England eventually broke the stand when Bumrah, on five, top-edged a pull shot off Ben Stokes and was caught by substitute fielder Sam Cook.

The crowd reacted with a mix of joy and relief, but Jadeja kept frustrating England. He reached his half-century off 150 balls by edging Stokes over the slips for four.

Siraj stayed in for 30 balls and made four runs while Jadeja farmed the strike. He managed several singles off the fourth ball of each over to retain the strike. Siraj took a blow on the shoulder from a Jofra Archer delivery before he was dismissed.

England dominate morning session

England took four wickets in the morning after India resumed on 58-4. Rishabh Pant hit a one-handed straight drive for four off Archer to move to nine, but Archer hit back two balls later by knocking out his off stump.

Stokes trapped KL Rahul lbw for 39. The umpire initially turned down the appeal, but the decision was overturned on review, leading to loud cheers from the crowd.

Washington Sundar was out for a duck, caught by Archer off his own bowling with a one-handed dive to his right.

Jadeja and Nitish Kumar Reddy then shared a stand of 30 runs, showing solid defence. But just before lunch, Woakes found the edge of Reddy’s bat, giving England a key breakthrough. The team left the field to warm applause from the packed crowd.

The series now stands at 2-1 in England’s favour.

(With inputs from agencies)