Ravindra Jadeja bats during day five of the 3rd Rothesay Test Match between England and India at Lord’s Cricket Ground on July 14, 2025 in London, England.
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There couldn’t have been a better advertisement for Test cricket. As Lord’s went nearly full on the first working day of the week, the players from both the sides gave it their all in the heat of the battle, with England eventually clinching a thriller.
As England players celebrated their 22-run victory over India and gained a 2-1 lead in the five-match series, the crowd cheered for them. However, it was heartbreak for Ravindra Jadeja (61 not out, 181b, 4×4, 1×6), who fought a lone battle, bringing up his second fifty of the game, but in the end, couldn’t guide the team home.
Fighting stand
Pursuing a chase of 193, after India lost eight wickets at lunch, not many imagined a fightback. But Jadeja refused to buckle, and paired with Jasprit Bumrah to delay the inevitable with a determined stand that lasted 132 balls.
They batted for nearly the entire second session before Ben Stokes broke the partnership by claiming the wicket of Bumrah.
As the ball got older, England tried the traditional lengths but Bumrah thwarted most of them before being tempted to go for a hook. He ended up getting a top edge and was caught at mid-on by substitute fielder Sam Cook.
However, even after his departure, there was hope for a miracle.
Taking it deep
Jadeja tried hard with Mohammed Siraj and took the game to the final session, with the former taking most of the strike and changing ends only once in an over. While that approach left the England bowlers frustrated, Jadeja and Siraj seemed to be in no hurry. The defensive approach may have hurt India in the end as the run-flow dried up, adding to the pressure.
England eventually got lucky as Shoaib Bashir bowled Siraj off an under-edge. As Siraj shook his head in disbelief and walked towards the pavilion, visibly shattered, Stokes walked up to Jadeja and gave him a warm hug. It, indeed, was a fine gesture given the fact that tempers flew over the last couple of days.
Three late wickets overnight had given England a shot at a comeback, and in the opening session, Stokes and Jofra Archer ripped apart India’s middle-order.
Big wicket
The visitors’ hopes rested on K.L. Rahul and Rishabh Pant, but both perished early in the morning. After being hit for a couple of boundaries, Archer sent Pant’s off-stump cartwheeling and followed it with an animated send-off.
Stokes trapped Rahul in front with a nip-backer soon. Though the on-field umpire turned down England’s appeal, ball-tracking validated that it was indeed hitting the stumps. The free fall continued as Archer grabbed a low one-handed stunner on his follow-through to send back Washington Sundar.
As India lost three wickets for just 11 runs in the space of four overs, it seemed just a matter of time before England romped home. But with Jadeja digging in with Nitish Kumar Reddy, India’s deficit was brought down below 100 before Chris Woakes accounted for Nitish.
Jadeja gave it his all during his four-and-a-half hour long stay at the crease, but fell short in the end.
Published – July 14, 2025 06:37 pm IST
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