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IND vs ENG Test Day 4: Siraj strikes twice, England 98/4 at lunch

• Posted on July 13, 2025

It was pure cinema at Lord’s on Sunday. There were heated arguments, animated conversations between players, and some banter among the fans over the time strategy.

And adding to the ebb and flow of the fourth day’s play, England bounced back, picking up three quick wickets in the final 30 minutes to reduce India to 58 for four.

After setting India a target of 193, England tilted the game in its favour. As the pitch offered inconsistent bounce, the tone was set by Jofra Archer, who claimed the wicket of Yashasvi Jaiswal for the second time in the game.

Though K.L. Rahul and Karun Nair stitched together a partnership of 36 runs for the second wicket, an error in judgement from the latter allowed England to take control of the game. Karun had a few close shaves before Brydon Carse trapped him plumb in front, and followed it up with the big wicket of India captain Shubman Gill.

With 15 minutes remaining, India experimented by sending Akash Deep, but Stokes cleaned him up in the last over of the day, adding to the visitors’ woes. As the Indian batters headed back to the pavilion, visibly dejected, the mood in the England camp was quite jovial as it managed to come from behind and ensured the match was tantalisingly poised with the hosts needing six wickets and India 135 runs to win and go 2-1 up in the series.

There was drama throughout the day as the Indian bowlers made the most of the early conditions to trigger a top-order collapse before Ben Stokes and Joe Root ground out a 67-run stand for the fifth wicket to take England to 192.

Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj started the proceedings with enough aggression. India lost a review as Siraj convinced Gill to take the referral for an lbw appeal against Crawley only to discover that it was sliding down the leg.

The England openers lived dangerously before Ben Duckett mistimed a pull to mid-on and Siraj celebrated in his face. As the batters looked uncomfortable playing Bumrah, who was bowling from the Nursery End, Siraj trapped Ollie Pope in front after India successfully reviewed.

Nitish Kumar Reddy was brought in to give Bumrah a break, and despite being hit for a boundary in his opening over, the youngster fought back and dismissed Crawley, who ended up hitting one to Jaiswal at gully.

Harry Brook tried to take things in his stride with a counter-attack, but Akash cleaned him up. Root and Stokes added some stability before falling to the trap laid by Washington Sundar. Sensing that spinners were finding some grip, Gill persisted with Washington and the offie removed both the batters to peg England back. He also sent back Jamie Smith and Shoaib Bashir.

However, the Indian batters let slip the advantage.

India struggles at 58/4 chasing 193 against England in the third Test, with KL Rahul unbeaten on 33. | Source: The Hindu

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