London [UK], July 14 : Former captain Nasser Hussain has classified the pulsating third contest between India and England at Lord's as the best five days of Test cricket that he has seen in some time.
India all-rounders Ravindra Jadeja, along with tailenders Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj, batted their hearts out, but fell marginally short on the final day. Words escaped Siraj as he slumped to his knees with his head hidden, trying to fathom that he had been clean bowled by Shoaib Bashir.
England players roared in jubilation and sprinted towards Bashir, lifted him to celebrate a memorable 22-run victory as India misfired in its attempts to gun down a 193-run target. Over the course of five days, emotions boiled over and tempers frayed, making a Test to remember.
"That was a great advert for five-day Test cricket. It was hard-fought, at times feisty, but in the end played within the spirit of the game. You saw at the end there the England players going up to the two India players in the middle. A bit like 2005 when Andrew Flintoff went up to Brett Lee at the non-striker's end at Edgbaston," Hussain said on Sky Sports.
After an unprecedented collapse before lunch, Jadeja fought with his sword, and Bumrah battled with grit to give India a faint glimmer of hope. The vision died down when Bumrah gave in to the temptation and ballooned the ball to substitute fielder Sam Cook.
But Siraj's resilience and Jadeja's persistence reignited the aspirations before chewing the hard pill of reality. Jadjea walked back unbeaten with a hard-fought 61 from 181 deliveries to his name.
"Jadeja and the India tailenders showed so much character and so much fight, they did not deserve to be on the losing side. That was the best five days of Test cricket I have seen in some time," Hussain added.
Former India wicketkeeper Dinesh Karthik raved about Jadjea's "brilliant" effort to keep the Test alive despite running out of partners at the other end. For Karthik, the attitude Siraj and Bumrah exuded is something to learn for all Indian cricket.
"I really enjoyed Ravindra Jadeja at the end. He was running out of partners but still having the mental resilience to keep going over after over, not making an error. He has batted brilliantly," Karthik said.
"The attitude of Bumrah and Siraj is one to learn for all of India cricket really. They did not want to give up; they wanted to make a match out of it. They just kept pushing, prodding, and doing everything to stay in the game," Karthik added.
With England leading the series 2-1, both teams will head to Manchester for the fourth Test as India will look to restore parity in the enticing five-match series.
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