Archer, Bumrah in focus as Team India gears up to take England in Lord’s Test

LONDON: Team India will be heading with renewed confidence as they take on England in the third Test at iconic Lord’s stadium after a 336-run triumph in Edgbaston.

The contest will also serve as a showdown between two pace-bowling superstars, India’s Jasprit Bumrah and England’s Jofra Archer, with the latter making a return to Test cricket after four years. Team India’s recent record at Lord’s has been fine, having won two of their last three matches during the past three tours of 2014, 2018, and 2021.

Team India, which delivered a phenomenal batting and bowling performance without Bumrah with skipper Shubman Gill’s masterclass knocks of 269 and 161, Mohammed Siraj walking away with a six-fer, and Akash Deep taking ten-wicket haul at Birmingham, will be energized by ‘Jassi Bhai’ coming back into the team after missing out on the second Test due to workload management.

“I’m happy he’s back”

Rishabh Pant reacts to the news that Jofra Archer is back in the England Test team pic.twitter.com/uShNJxZMKA

— Sky Sports Cricket (@SkyCricket) July 9, 2025

Speaking ahead of the match in the pre-match presser, vice-captain Rishabh Pant said, “I think everything (What makes Bumrah special). How accurate he is, the way his mind works, I think he is just an amazing man. I think it’s more difficult for the wicket-keeper behind the wicket than for a batsman, I guess. Especially in England (the movement he gets).”

England skipper Ben Stokes is excited about Archer’s return to playing XI. “Really exciting. I think it is great for English fans, but also for Jof. It has been a long time coming for him. The way in which he has handled injury setbacks over that period has been very commendable, and the way in which he has got himself back onto the field and playing cricket over a long period of time now, it is exciting to have him back.”

“I think Jof is going to be pretty proud of himself that he has managed to get himself back here after two pretty big injury scares,” he added. Stokes also said that there are no plans to limit Archer’s workload during the match.”There is definitely going to be no preconceived ideas around he is only bowling spells of four or five, definitely not,” he said.

Despite the heavy defeat in Birmingham, Stokes was confident about England’s response at Lord’s, promising a spirited comeback.”We’ll be coming out this week trying to hit them hard and obviously trying to come away with a win,” he added.

Pant and Team India are just as excited to take on Archer, looking to add to his resume of 13 Tests and 42 wickets, but they are not overawed by the challenge. “Personally, whenever I step on the field, I always enjoy my cricket and try to give my 200 pc”, Pant said.

“Not particularly about any individual. Just being on the field, yes, it’s going to be a good contest always because he’s also coming back after a long break. I’m happy he’s back,” he noted. Pant spoke on the Dukes ball getting out of shape too much during the matches, saying that such things have never happened and it is “not good for cricket”.

Pant said, “I feel the gauge should be the same (to determine if the ball has gone out of shape, irrespective of the ball brand), but if it is a little smaller, it will be better. Definitely, I feel it is a big problem because the ball is getting out of shape. But at the same time, it is not up to us. Because visually, when you see the ball, you can see it’s de-shaped.”

“The ball is getting de-shaped too much. That has never happened like this. It is definitely irritating for the players because every ball plays in a different way. Because when it becomes softer, sometimes it does not do too much. But as soon one changes the ball, it starts to do enough. So as a batsman, you have to keep adjusting to it. But at the same time, I feel it is not good for cricket eventually,” he added.

Squads:

India: Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul, Karun Nair, Shubman Gill(c), Rishabh Pant(w), Nitish Kumar Reddy, Ravindra Jadeja, Washington Sundar, Akash Deep, Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna, Dhruv Jurel, Sai Sudharsan, Arshdeep Singh, Abhimanyu Easwaran, Jasprit Bumrah, Shardul Thakur, Kuldeep Yadav

England: Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Ollie Pope, Joe Root, Harry Brook, Ben Stokes(c), Jamie Smith(w), Chris Woakes, Brydon Carse, Jofra Archer, Shoaib Bashir, Jamie Overton, Josh Tongue, Sam James Cook, Gus Atkinson, Jacob Bethell. (ANI)