India vs England 3rd Test: India suffered a heartbreaking loss in the third Test match of the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy against England at Lord’s on Monday, 14 July, falling 22 runs short of their target despite a heroic last-wicket stand by Ravindra Jadeja and Mohammed Siraj.
Reflecting on the third Test match result, India’s captain Shubman Gill expressed his pride at the fight shown by the Indian batters in tough conditions at Lord’s, despite ultimately succumbing to a defeat to hand England a 2-1 lead in the series.
“Extremely proud, (this is) as close as Test cricket gets,” Gill said after the match. “Pretty confident this morning (with) plenty batting left this morning. We needed a couple of partnerships in the top order, (but) we couldn’t do that. They (England) played better than us. But there's always hope.”
India ended the fourth day at 58/4, with Brydon Carse taking two wickets to put the visitors in a tough situation, needing 135 runs to win the game. The wickets continued to tumble on Day 5 as well, with India going eight wickets down by lunch.
However, Ravindra Jadeja stuck to his guns and was ably assisted by Jasprit Bumrah on the other end. Bumrah lost his wicket to an ill-chosen shot, departing after facing 54 balls. Mohammed Siraj, coming as the 11th batter, hung around for 30 balls.
Jadeja reached his half-century in 149 balls, marking his fourth consecutive fifty in this India vs England series. However, a lofted spinner from Shoaib Bashir knocked Siraj’s stumps, bringing India’s valiant chase to an end, 22 runs short.
“Target wasn’t massive, one partnership and (we were) back in the game,” Gill added. “Jaddu (Jadeja is) very experienced, no messages, just wanted him and the tail to keep batting.”
Bat on, Jadeja did. He built two tail-end partnerships – 35 runs off 132 balls with Bumrah, and 23 off 80 with Siraj. Contrary to the fight shown by him, India’s top order disappointed at the Lord’s.
India Vs England 3rd Test: Gill Rues Missed Opportunities
One player in particular who will feel a tinge of regret with his performance in the second innings is KL Rahul. The batter scored a sublime century in the first innings and looked destined for another deep innings, batting at 39 off 58.
Then came Ben Stokes, who beat Rahul’s defence and immediately appealed for an LBW. The umpire did not give it, but the captain reviewed, and Rahul had to walk back.
Rishabh Pant, too, had a disappointing day out, managing just nine runs before Archer decimated his stumps with an in-seamer.
Despite the brave fight shown by India, they are currently trailing in the bilateral series. Gill admitted that “a lead in the first innings would have been crucial for us”, but it wasn’t the case.
In fact, India looked to be in trouble when the hosts secured a comfortable five-wicket win in the first Test at Leeds. The Men in Blue roared back with a 336-run victory at Edgbaston, levelling the series as well as giving the new-look India side wind under their sails.
That momentum will suffer from Monday’s defeat. But skipper Gill says that India’s performance at Lord’s does not accurately reflect how well they have played against an on-form English side on away soil.
“Things turned quickly, last hour we could have applied ourselves better, and this morning they came up with plans,” he said. “The series score doesn’t reflect how we’ve played.”
India will have another chance to bring themselves back in the series when they face England in the fourth Test match at Old Trafford, Manchester, on 23 July 2025. The newly-named Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy is on the line, but so is India’s position in the ICC World Test Championship 2025-27 points table.
India, who did not make the WTC finals last time around, are in fourth place, trailing England by 12 points, both having played three matches. Table-toppers Australia have 24 points as well, but from two games.
