Ben Stokes produced a vital run out at Lord’s but England’s bowlers experienced a difficult third day as India nudged towards parity in the third Rothesay Test.
At tea the tourists were 71 behind on 316 for five, England toiling in the heat for two wickets as they watched their first-innings lead slowly dissolve.
Centurion KL Rahul and the dangerous Rishabh Pant were three balls away from inflicting a wicketless opening session when the latter was opportunistically dismissed on 74, Stokes pulling a rabbit from the hat as he hurled down the stumps at the bowler’s end.
That's tea on day three 🥪
— England Cricket (@englandcricket) July 12, 2025
India trailing by 71 runs 🏏
Catch up on today's action here: https://t.co/lMMsLgpDXa pic.twitter.com/jzwaxr0uHW
Having ended a draining stand of 141, England struck again after lunch when Shoaib Bashir had Rahul caught at slip for an even 100.
But the trail went cold again as Ravindra Jadeja and Nitish Kumar Reddy took up the fight with a painstaking partnership of 62 in 143 deliveries.
Another run out was England’s best chance of success, four chances going begging in the middle session as Stokes’ team-mates failed to match his precision. Ollie Pope was off target twice as Reddy survived a nervy start.
The only other opportunity came when Jadeja smashed a hard return catch at Bashir, who copped a painful blow to the left little finger and left the field immediately seeking treatment.
Jofra Archer added a dash of excitement to proceedings with a lively spell with the old ball, hitting 94mph in a burst that was recorded as his fastest for England since his debut on the same ground in 2019.
Archer started the day with four overs at the Pavilion End, a solid start but one that could not ruffle the feathers of Rahul and Pant.
He and Chris Woakes put together 31 successive balls without a run off the bat but the pressure was released when Brydon Carse entered the fray and shipped 22 off his first two overs.
Rahul picked off three consecutive fours to add to his overnight 53 and Pant began to go through his repertoire off attacking strokes.
He failed to connect with his trademark rollover ramp but did leather Woakes for a couple of clean boundaries and hooked Stokes for six to reach his half-century in style.
He welcomed Bashir’s belated introduction 20 minutes before lunch with another big six but saw his fun ended by Stokes’ direct hit in the last over of the morning’s play.
Jofra Archer’s 73rd over speeds:
— England Cricket (@englandcricket) July 12, 2025
1. 92.7 mph 🔥
2. 93.1 mph 🔥
3. 92.0 mph 🔥
4. 90.5 mph 🔥
5. 91.9 mph 🔥
6. 91.4 mph 🔥
The 𝐟𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐬𝐭 spell of his career 😱 pic.twitter.com/FgbLmBCpJS
Rahul was 98 not out at the time and his imminent landmark may well have played a role in the risky call. Rahul did make it to three figures after the restart but went no further, flashing a drive at Bashir moments later and feeding Harry Brook at slip.
Confused calling between Jadeja and Reddy gave England ample opportunity to get another run out but the radar was off – Pope reprieving Reddy twice at the start of his innings, while Carse and Ben Duckett also missed the target.
Bashir’s injury further dented England’s options but the toothless use of the second new ball will have concerned the home side just as much.
