London [UK], July 13: Indian pacers produced a fiery first session on Day 4 of the third Test at Lord’s, reducing England to 98/4 by Lunch and shifting the momentum firmly in India’s favour.
Resuming at 2/0, England lost four wickets in the morning session, with Mohammed Siraj leading the attack with two key breakthroughs. At the break, England captain Ben Stokes was unbeaten on 2*(13), with Joe Root holding firm at 17*(40).
Siraj made the early breakthrough by removing Ben Duckett for 12 in the 6th over. Just before drinks, he struck again, dismissing Ollie Pope for 4, leaving England reeling at 42/2.
Zak Crawley struggled once again, managing only 22 runs off 49 balls before falling to Nitish Kumar Reddy, continuing his lean run in the series. Harry Brook looked dangerous for a brief period, scoring a quick 23 off 17 balls, but was bowled by Akash Deep, who claimed his first wicket of the match.
Earlier, India posted 387 in their first innings on Saturday, matching England’s total, thanks to KL Rahul’s century and a solid 72 from Ravindra Jadeja. England had earlier posted 387 in their first innings, led by Joe Root’s 104 and late-order fifties from Brydon Carse and Jamie Smith.
The match is finely poised, with both teams locked on first-innings scores and India now pressing for a breakthrough in the final innings.
Brief Scores:
England 1st innings: 387 (Joe Root 104, Ollie Pope 44; Jasprit Bumrah 3/72)
India 1st innings: 387 (KL Rahul 100, Rishabh Pant 74; Chris Woakes 3/84)
England 2nd innings: 98/4 at Lunch on Day 4 (Harry Brook 23, Zak Crawley 22; Mohammed Siraj 2/11)