KL’s fifty, Pant’s return positives as India end at 145/3 (Day 2, Stumps)

LONDON: A fighting half-century from KL Rahul and the return of wicketkeeper-batter Rishabh Pant as a batter following a finger injury were key positives as Team India ended day two with two more wickets lost during the third Test against Lord’s on Friday.

At the end of the day’s play, India was 145/3, with Pant (19*) and Rahul (53*) unbeaten. They trail by 242 runs.

Resuming the final session at 44/1, Nair (18) and Rahul (13) continued to play positively, with Nair finding a couple of boundaries. The duo reached their 50-run stand in 95 balls.

However, once again, the Karnataka batter, who made his return to Test side after eight years, failed to capitalise on his start, falling to skipper Ben Stokes with a catch from Joe Root at slips.

Nair was gone for 40 in 62 balls, with four boundaries. India was 74/2, with a 61-run stand being undone by the skipper.

Skipper Shubman Gill joined KL at the crease, and the duo took India to the 100-run mark in 29.1 overs, with minimal risks. However, their 33-run partnership was ended by Chris Woakes, as Gill produced a faint edge that reached keeper Jamie Smith’s hands. The skipper was gone for 16. India was at 107/3.

To the relief of Indian players and fans alike, Rishabh Pant was next up on the crease and punished Shoaib Bashir with three boundaries within no time, unaffected by his finger injury.

KL continued his fine run in the series, bringing up his second fifty of the series in 97 balls, with five fours.

KL and Rishabh made sure that the team ended day without any further loss of wickets.

Earlier, at the stroke of Tea, India put 44/1 in 14 overs on the board, trailing by 343 runs with Rahul and Nair unbeaten with scores of 13(34) and 18(42), respectively.

The second session began with India making inroads to pull the curtains down on England’s innings. Mohammed Siraj forced an outside edge from Jamie Smith (51), which travelled straight to the substitute wicketkeeper Dhruv Jurel behind the stumps. Brydon Carse flexed his boundary-hitting prowess, but Jofra perished as Bumrah rattled his stumps to punch his return ticket on 4(11), bringing up his maiden five-wicket haul at Lord’s. Carse brought up his half-century by picking up Siraj’s slower delivery and dispatching it for a towering maximum.

Siraj was left in dismay after Jurel managed to get fingertips on the ball but fumbled it, allowing Carse the opportunity to continue with his belligerent approach. Eventually, Siraj got Carse wth the yorker ploy and castled him on 56(83), marking the end of England’s innings on 387.

England speedster Archer, who returned to the format after four years, enchanted the spectators with his blistering pace in his first over. On the third delivery, he lured a healthy leading edge from Yashasvi Jaiswal, which flew to Harry Brook, stationed at the second slip. Karun and Rahul forged

India’s comeback and ensured India remained unscathed before returning for tea with an unbeaten partnership of 31.

At the beginning of the day, England took to the field in the first session at 251/4, with Root (99*) and skipper Ben Stokes (39*) unbeaten.

In the first ball of the day with a boundary, Root continued his incredible run at Lord’s, notching his ninth international ton at the venue and his 37th century in Test cricket, climbing to fifth spot among all-time Test centurions.

In the 86th over, Jasprit Bumrah produced the breakthrough for India, producing a brilliant nip-backer that crashed into Stokes’ top of off-stump, removing him for 44 in 110 balls, with four boundaries. England was 260/5, ending an 88-run partnership between two of the most senior players in the group.

Jamie Smith was next up on the crease and immediately went after Mohammed Siraj with two cracking fours.

However, in the very next over, Bumrah once again came in clutch, castling Root for a 199-ball 104 consisting of 10 fours and then getting Chris Woakes caught behind by Dhruv Jurel for a golden duck. England was 271/7.

Smith continued his attacking brand of cricket, collecting boundaries against Siraj and Bumrah and playing some fine shots, displaying his class and power. The 300-run mark came up for England in 92.3 overs. Even Carse produced some handy boundaries.

Smith continued his red-hot form, reaching his fifty in 52 balls, with six fours. On the same delivery, England reached their 350-run mark. Smith and Carse made sure that England ended the session without any further trouble.

Brief Scores: England: 387 (Joe Root 104, Brydon Carse 56; Jasprit Bumrah 5/74) vs India: 145/3 (KL Rahul 53*, Karun Nair 40; Jofra Archer 1/22). (ANI)