London [UK], July 12 : Ravindra Jadeja and Nitish Kumar Reddy stitched India's comeback after KL Rahul fell early in the post-lunch session on Day 3 of the third Test against England at Lord's on Saturday.
At Tea, India were 316/5 in 91 overs, trailing by 71 runs, with Jadeja and Nitish unbeaten on 49(70) and 25(77), respectively.
Moments into the second session, Rahul notched up his second hundred of the series. He knocked the ball wide of mid-off, "yes, yes, yes" was the call as he scampered for a single to celebrate his second ton at Lord's. He removed his helmet, raised both arms and soaked in the applause from the spectators, who witnessed his masterclass.
Rahul's masterclass ended immediately after bringing up his record-breaking ton. On the first delivery of the next over, Rahul tried to hit spinner Shoaib Bashir's flighted off-break through the covers, but all he could manage was a loose push. He gave an edge, which flew Harry Brook at the slips and Rahul made his way to the pavilion at 100(177).
India appeared rattled after Rahul's dismissal. A mix-up between Jadeja and Reddy left the latter well short of the crease while sprinting for a single. Ollie Pope, who had all the time in the world, rushed his throw and missed the stumps.
More chaos ensued in running between the wickets. Reddy enjoyed another lucky break. He rushed halfway through the pitch, but Jadeja wasn't interested, which forced him to rush back to the striker's end. Pope was the culprit yet again as he missed the stumps.
Bashir sustained a finger injury after Jadeja came down the track and drilled it hard towards the spinner. Bashir put his left hand in the ball's path and ended up sustaining an injury. He quickly asked for medical treatment and went off the field. Joe Root came in to finish the over.
With the second new ball available, England didn't waste much time and went for it. Jadeja and Nitish played cautiously and offered stubborn resistance. England bowlers pushed hard for wickets, deployed a short ball ploy, Archer's bursting pace, and tempting deliveries, but rued their missed chances.
The duo were caught in a mix-up for the third time. Jadeja and Nitish found themselves in the middle of the pitch, but Ben Duckett, off balance, missed the chance. Jadeja and Nitish ensured England returned empty-handed as the session ended.
Earlier in the day, India kicked off the proceedings in style as Rishabh Pant slammed a boundary on the first ball of the session, which right-arm seamer Jofra Archer bowled.
In the 54th over of the Indian innings, KL Rahul smashed three consecutive fours on the last three balls bowled by right-arm pacer Brydon Carse. With these three fours, KL Rahul took his tally of runs to 76 runs off 148 balls.
The visitors touched the 200-run mark on the last ball of the 57th over as Rahul took a single on the bowling of Ben Stokes.
Rahul-Pant brought up their 100-run partnership on the first ball of the 59th over when the team score was 207 as Stokes bowled a wide.
Pant brought up his fifty in great fashion as he slashed a six on the last ball of Stokes' over.
In the last over just before lunch, Pant got run out with a brilliant direct throw from Ben Stokes. Pant went back to the pavilion after scoring 74 runs from 112 balls, which was laced with eight fours and two sixes in his innings.
So far, the hosts have grabbed four wickets in the bowling department. One wicket each have been bagged by Chris Woakes 1/73 in 19 overs, Jofra Archer (1/35 in 14 overs), and Ben Stokes (1/44 in 11 overs) in their respective spells.
Earlier in the match, England's skipper Ben Stokes won the toss and elected to bat first.
Batting first, the Three Lions scored 387 runs thanks to a century stand between Root (104) and Ollie Pope (44) and a counter-attacking 82-run stand between Brydon Carse and Jamie Smith, who both struck fifties down the order.
For the Shubman Gill-led side, five wickets were snapped by Jasprit Bumrah in his spell of 27 overs, where he conceded 74 runs and bowled five maiden overs. Two wickets each were grabbed by Mohammed Siraj (2/85 in 23.3 overs) & Nitish Kumar Reddy (2/62 in 17 overs), and one wicket was bagged by left-arm spinner Ravindra Jadeja (1/29 in 12 overs) in their respective spells.
Brief Scores: England: 387 (Joe Root 104, Brydon Carse 56; Jasprit Bumrah 5/74) vs India: 316/5 (KL Rahul 100, Rishabh Pant 74; Jofra Archer 1/45).
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