England and India face tense final day at Lord's with third Test on a knife's edge
India set itself a winning target of 193 runs but was reduced to 4-58 in its second innings overnight. Stumps, with eight overs remaining, came as a relief to India, with England fired up and a sun-soaked Lord's crowd turned happily hostile.
For one of the teams to take a 2-1 lead in the five-match series, England needs six more wickets or India needs 135 more runs.
Asked for a prediction, India's Washington Sundar smiled and said his team was in the box seat to claim the win.
"Definitely India winning tomorrow. Just after lunch," he said.
"The position we are in right now, we would have taken. Maybe one down would be ideal."
Opening batter Lokesh Rahul will resume on 33 not out but with the ball only 17.4 overs old and still juicy.
India began its chase after tea and appeared to weather the early storm after Yashasvi Jaiswal fell to Jofra Archer for a duck and fellow opener Rahul was dropped on five by Chris Woakes.
Rahul and Karun Nair piled more hurt on England and were chipping runs off the target until nearly an hour later when Nair left a straight delivery from seamer Brydon Carse and was plumb LBW.
India appeared to panic. In came captain Shubman Gill, the series' most prolific batter. But he was unusually anxious, played six false shots in the nine balls he faced, and was out LBW to Carse for six.
That huge wicket sent England into orbit and Carse into overdrive.
India sent in fast bowler Akash Deep as a nightwatchman and for the last 15 minutes of the day he was targeted. Deep survived a video review on umpire's call and multiple LBW and catch appeals off Carse. But it was Stokes who smashed his off stump in what turned out to be the last ball of a remarkable day.
The inspired Carse had 2-11 and Stokes 1-15.
In all, 14 wickets fell on day four.
"When the ball gets a little bit softer, there are more runs to be had out there, but if you get it enough in the right place [the pitch is] very tricky," England batting coach Marcus Trescothick told the BBC.
"It'll come down to who holds the pressure best tomorrow."
England was fielding on days two and three and gave its bowlers only 61 overs of rest before it was bowling again on day four.
England was batting at 4-154 in the afternoon session and looking good to post a challenging target but it suffered a collapse of 6-38 to be all out for 192.
For some reason, the pitch turned nasty overnight. It was offering plenty for the new-ball seamers and India's Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj made deliveries fly off a length and rear up almost dangerously. On this minefield, four England batters blew up in the morning.
Ben Duckett swatted straight to mid-on and Siraj followed through by screaming "come on" twice in Duckett's face and they brushed shoulders. Siraj got Ollie Pope next, LBW for four after a review.
Zak Crawley's brave but skittish innings finished on 22, edging a drive at Nitish Kumar Reddy.
Harry Brook relieved the tension by scooping Deep for two boundaries and smashing him into the members' pavilion. But Brook then tried sweeping the seamer and was bowled around his pads on 23.
Joe Root and Stokes took England to lunch on 4-98 and spent the afternoon edging their team toward a defendable target; 250 in the mind of most observers.
The pitch eased as the ball softened and Root and Stokes took England past 100 and 150.
Then off-spinner Sundar regained the momentum for India when he found drift and spin and bowled Root on 40 (sweeping), Jamie Smith on 8 (defending), Stokes on 33 (sweeping) and Shoaib Bashir on 0 (defending).
Sundar had 4-22 in 12.1 overs, the best figures by an India spinner in England in 23 years.
Bumrah took 2-38 and Siraj 2-31.
"They were all big wickets, especially [at] the stage of play," Sundar said.
"The UK has been kind. I don't get as much drift in subcontinent conditions."
A dozen England batters in the match were bowled, the most by England in a Test since 1887 in Sydney. It had never happened in England. Six of the bowleds in the match were by Bumrah. That was a first for India against England. The last bowler to bowl six Englishmen was Curtly Ambrose in 1994 at Port of Spain.
But India's terrific bowling effort showed England what kind of damage it can do, too, and set up the match for a thrilling finale at a sold-out Lords.
AP
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Australian
38 minutes ago
- The Australian
Usyk knocks out Dubois to become undisputed world heavyweight champion
Oleksandr Usyk cemented his status as the outstanding heavyweight of his generation with an emphatic fifth-round knockout of Daniel Dubois in their undisputed world title bout at London's Wembley Stadium on Saturday. Victory saw Ukraine's Usyk extend his unbeaten professional record to 24 fights as the WBA, WBC and WBO champion added his British opponent's IBF belt to his collection. Usyk, now a two-time undisputed champion, dominated the opening four rounds. And early in the fifth he dropped Dubois to the canvas. Moments later he finished the fight in decisive fashion after a trademark left hook left his British rival unable to beat the count one minute and 52 seconds into the round. It was the second time Usyk, at 38 some 11 years older than his opponent, had defeated Dubois following a ninth-round stoppage success in Krakow, Poland, in 2023, where the Briton was ruled to have landed an illegal low blow in the fifth round. Lennox Lewis, the last British boxer to be undisputed world champion in 1999, forecast before Saturday's fight that Usyk would face a vastly-improved Dubois, saying: "Dubois was a baby in the sport and now he's a not going to see the same Daniel Dubois from 18 months ago." But after Usyk was roared into the ring by a huge contingent of supporters, many of them waving Ukraine national flags in a 90,000 capacity crowd at Wembley, best known as the London base of England's national football team, it was largely one-way traffic as their hero conducted a ruthless masterclass against local favourite Dubois. "38 is a young guy, remember!," Usyk told DAZN in the ring after dropping to his knees in celebration. "38 is only start! "I want to say thank you to Jesus Christ. I want to say thank you to my team and Wembley, thank you so much! It's for the people. "Nothing is next. It's enough, next, I don't know. I want to rest. My family, my wife, my children, I want to rest now. Two or three months, I want to just rest." - 'Modern-day legend' - Asked about his next opponent Usyk, who has already twice beaten former world heavyweight champion Tyson Fury, added: "Maybe it's Tyson Fury. Maybe we have three choices, Derek Chisora and Anthony Joshua. Maybe Joseph Parker. Listen, I cannot now say because I want to go back home." Dubois insisted he would return to the ring, saying: "I have to commend him (Usyk) on the performance, I gave everything I had. Take no credit away from that man, I'll be back." His trainer, Don Charles, added: "We tried to get going, Dubois is a young will be back stronger. If you're going to lose, lose to someone like Usyk." And promoter Frank Warren, a veteran of the British boxing scene, said: "Usyk is a modern-day legend. In any generation he would be a great fighter. No complaints, the better man won on the night. "It's Joe Parker's time." Usyk, meanwhile, basked in the adulation following the latest dazzling victory of a career that has seen him emerge as a national hero in his war-torn homeland. Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky was among the first to congratulate Usyk on his victory. "An undisputed champion. A legend. One of our own," Zelensky wrote on X. "Thank you for the strength and inspiration you give to the whole country with every victory. Thank you for stepping into each fight with Ukraine in your heart." jdg/rcw
ABC News
2 hours ago
- ABC News
Lions coach hails 'big game players' as Russell and Curry rise in win over Wallabies
The first rendition of the Lions' simplistic, eponymous yet rousing chant had barely faded away at a packed Lang Park on Saturday night when Tom Curry nailed James Slipper with a massive shot in midfield. The Englishman, just 12 seconds into the contest, was setting out his stall early. Tadhg Beirne, his back-row partner, was over the ball in an instant and, just 20 seconds into the game, Ben O'Keeffe was blowing his whistle and pointing to the sky, a penalty to the Lions. The British and Irish Lions walloped the Wallabies in the first half of the opening Test of the series, racing to a 24-5 lead off the back of that brutal intensity out of the gate. Curry, whose selection had been criticised heading into the Test, was one of those players who grabbed his opportunity and ran with it. He helped keep the dangerous Wallabies centre partnership of Len Ikitau and Joseph Aukuso-Suaalii quiet with some monstrous defensive pressure. Beirne too, another member of that hotly contested back row that was given the nod for this first Test, was on the way to vindicating his selection with a player of the match performance. Farrell was not surprised though. Despite the commentary over their selection, the Ireland coach was unequivocal in how he felt Curry responded to his critics. "Immense," he said of the English flanker. "Absolutely immense." The 27-year-old had not been in great form on tour but, selected on account of his experience and temperament, repaid the faith Farrell showed in him with a stunning performance. "I read all that," Farrell said, when asked whether they had vindicated his call. "Yeah, it was interesting, wasn't it? "Big game players, who were probably challenged by a good few and I think he told the story. "I think Tom Curry put in a really nice shot defensively and Taidhg Beirne got the turnover very early doors, set the tone really and I don't think it stopped there. "He carried on for the rest of the game, Jack Conan's carrying was very much on the front foot. "So there was three guys, I'm sure they'd be delighted with how they responded to selection." Big game players on the biggest of stages. The build-up to the first Test in Brisbane had been electric as the wave of Lions fans broke over south-east Queensland, the sea of red as evident in the pubs and clubs of Paddington as it was in the stands of a raucous crowd of 52,229 at Lang Park. And the Lions fans had plenty to roar about early, as the tourists took the game by the scruff of the neck held a 24-5 lead just after half time. "Absolutely delighted," Farrell said of the performance. "Big occasion, big game. "We know what coming to Suncorp means to Australia, so they would have been targeting this, so delighted to come away with the victory." Another of the Lions' "big game" players, Finn Russell, was orchestrating the back line with all the guile and skill of a virtuoso conductor, all quick hands and lightning thought. It was five minutes in when Russell kicked a 50-22. Seven minutes in when he reached around Nick Champion de Crespigny to release Dan Sheehan. Eight minutes in when he lofted a peach of a pass over three stricken Wallabies defenders onto the chest of Sione Tuipulotu to give the Lions a 10-0 lead inside the opening 10 minutes. "I can't take any credit for that," Tuipulotu told media after the match. "That's him finding me. "It was kind of weird when he was throwing it, I felt like he was gonna throw it to that space and more I didn't have to do much, I just have to accelerate and catch the ball. "That's what playing with special players is. It's pretty cool." Special players. Russell left the field in the second half. Just cramp, according to Farrell, who said the Scotland 10 "controlled" the game perfectly with Jamison Gibson-Park. "When they were able to show the best of themselves, we know what they've got in the locker as far as the point of difference is concerned. It came out every now and again and and that's the brilliance of the two," Farrell said. The Lions coach is no doubt hopeful Russell will be OK to play at the MCG next week, the very biggest of stages that the Lions will have ever played on. So will his Scotland teammate Tuipulotu. "It felt like we were playing a Scotland game together, you know?" said Tuipulotu, part of the first 10-12-13 axis from the same country to play in a Lions team since 1993. "I think his nature helps everyone, calms everyone. "And then added to the fact he's got probably the best skills out of any 10 in the world." Wallabies number 10 Tom Lynagh said it was "an incredible experience" to play against Russell. "It's a joy to play with, isn't it?" he said, "still shaking with adrenaline" an hour after the full time siren. "You can't get starstruck about who you're playing against," he said, as if reminding himself. "You've just got to play your game." Lynagh in particular was far from starstruck, although the team as a whole was perhaps a little tentative, a young team against a squad of hardened veterans. That being said, the Wallabies recovered from 24-5 down to fall just eight points short at the final. "I thought we let them back into the game, " Farrell said. "It doesn't really matter whether you think the game was won or lost. "I thought we let them back into the game in regards to a lack of discipline in the second half. "I actually believe that's a fantastic place for us to be because there's so much more in us." Maro Itoje said the Lions "weren't accurate with our decision making". "When you're not accurate with your decision making against a good team, you tend to put yourself under pressure." But as much as Farrell said the Lions would take a lot from the victory, he said, "We know what's coming". "We know what happened in the second half … We roll on to the second game knowing full well what happened in 2013. "When an Australian team becomes desperate, it's difficult to handle. "We expect a different game next week. But having said that, we expect more of ourselves as well. "Not only is that Australia's second game and they'll play much better because of that, but because of what it means to them and how proud they are. "We need to make sure that we're ready for them being 100 per cent at their best."
News.com.au
3 hours ago
- News.com.au
Jake Paul ‘disgrace' enrages boxing world
Jake Paul has made a public call to fight heavyweight legend Olyksandr Usyk in an MMA cage. Paul on Sunday entered the ring after watching Usyk destroy Daniel Dubois during their battle for the undisputed heavyweight world title at Wembley Stadium. Tszyu vs Fundora 2 & Pacquiao vs Barrios | SUN 20 JULY 10AM AEST | In the biggest fight of the year, Tim Tszyu faces Sebastian Fundora in a blockbuster rematch, plus Manny Pacquiao makes his highly anticipated return to the ring to face Mario Barrios. | Order now with Main Event on Kayo Sports Usyk knocked out Dubois in the fifth round after dropping the British fighter twice in the space of one minute as a crowd of 90,000 spectators went berserk. Paul was one of those spectators, watching from the front row and was on his feet applauding Usyk the moment the fight was stopped by the referee. As Usyk was celebrating his unified titles in the ring, Paul stepped in and stared him down in a pre-arranged promotional gimmick. The sight of Paul standing in front of the legendary fighter left many boxing commentators shaking their head. The concept of Paul fighting for a heavyweight title had plenty venting their frustration on social media — and they no doubt would have been further incensed by Paul's social media posts that were shared shortly after. The American posted on Instagram he will fight former heavyweight world champ Anthony Joshua before turning his attention to fight Usyk in an MMA match. Paul posted on Instagram: 'First AJ. Then OU. Book it.' The YouTuber-turned-boxer had his first professional fight in June when he defeated veteran Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. It shocked many to see Paul positioning himself for a potential fight against the undefeated Ukrainian. After a barrage of scorn from boxing fans on social media, Paul made it clear his call out was not to fight Usyk in the boxing ring. 'Congrats to one of the greatest heavyweights of all time @usykaa on a huge win,' he wrote on X. 'I respect you a lot. Now we do an MMA match for the world.' The pair looked each other down for a brief moment before they shook hands and Paul went on his way. Boxing fans were scathing of the cheap promotional stunt. One English commentator posted on X: 'Letting Jake Paul anywhere near Usyk is an absolute disgrace to the sport'. One person responded to Paul by posting: 'Delusional mate, absolutely delusional'. One fan wrote: 'Letting him in the same ring as Usyk is an insult'. Paul earlier confirmed he will step into the ring to fight Joshua. He told DAZN: 'Yeh 100 per cent it's going to happen. We're going to do the unthinkable and create one of the biggest fights in the history of boxing. 'It's not even about it being realistic or not, it's gonna happen so fasten your seatbelts. 'And when I knock him out I'll go down in the history books forever.' Paul and Joshua's upcoming clash had already been revealed by boxing guru Turki Alalshikh. He said: 'I'm not against what Jake Paul's doing in boxing, it's good for boxing to have a young generation. 'I'm against some kinds of fights he does. I'm now thinking him against Joshua. Joshua, if he destroys (Paul), it will be good for me. 'The headache of Jake Paul goes from my mind. If Jake Paul wins, I will know that Joshua is finished and Jake Paul deserves to be ring king and deserves to have a future in boxing. 'I don't want 50-50. In this situation I want 99-1. Jake Paul's accepted. Now next week I will talk with Joshua about it.'
