Jofra Archer needed just three balls to show England what they have been missing during his four-year absence from Test cricket, dismissing India opener Yashasvi Jaiswal with a beauty on day two at Lord’s.
Archer’s return, for the first time since February 2021, sent a wave of excitement coursing through the historic venue and he delivered in style by clipping Jaiswal’s outside edge at 90mph.
Harry Brook snapped up the catch at second slip as Archer punched the air and sprinted in celebration, a long and traumatic sequence of injuries finally behind him.
Edged... And carried!
— England Cricket (@englandcricket) July 11, 2025
JOFRA IS BACK! 🌪️ pic.twitter.com/xr0hgYtP72
His five-over spell, during which the 30-year-old bowled with consistent fire, offered a reminder of the cutting edge he can provide and drew a huge response from the sell-out crowd.
At tea India were 44 for one, replying to England’s hard-fought total of 387.
The hosts built around Joe Root’s 37th Test century, completed off the first ball of the morning after he resumed on 99 not out, with Jamie Smith (51) and Brydon Carse (56) adding important contributions.
Jasprit Bumrah, meanwhile, showed why he is ranked as the number one bowler in the world with a classy haul of five for 74.
There were two question marks lingering at the start of play: would Root get the single run he needed for his eighth hundred at the home of cricket and was Ben Stokes fit after struggling with an apparent groin injury on the first evening.
England got both the answers they wanted, Root spraying the first ball of the morning for four past gully and Stokes moving well at the crease, but things soon turned in the tourists’ favour.
That was squarely down to Bumrah, who produced a scintillating sequence of three wickets in seven balls.
Stokes was his first victim, gone for a season’s best of 44 as Bumrah darted one back and flattened off stump. He returned next over to add Root, the definition of big game hunting, this time pegging back middle via an errant drive and a drag-on.
Chris Woakes followed with a first-baller, a thin edge picked up by DRS, completing the slump from 260 for four to 271 for seven.
Smith should have gone for just five, KL Rahul dropping a simple chance off Mohammed Siraj at second slip, but he made the most of his second chance.
Playing with wonderful simplicity he drove powerfully through the covers, rolled his wrists on anything short and collected a regular supply of easy singles.
In doing so he notched up 1,000 Test runs in his 21st innings, level with South Africa’s Quinton de Kock as the fastest wicketkeeper to that mark. He led a bold stand of 84 for the eighth wicket before being caught behind at the start of the afternoon session.
By then Carse had found his feet and he continued pushing the England score onwards, reaching a maiden half-century by lifting Siraj for a muscular six down the ground. He was last man out after Archer had been clean bowled by Bumrah, with all eyes reverting to the returning quick as England took the field.
After a sloppy opener from Woakes, Archer hared in with the fans roaring him on and produced a magical moment when he stood one up on the slope and caught Jaiswal frozen in two minds.
His celebration spoke volumes, as did the joyous reaction of his team-mates. That was the only breakthrough England managed before tea but Archer hit a solid rhythm and hit a top speed of 93mph as he injected some menace into a reluctant pitch.
