Tea, day four, third Test
England 387 & 175-6 (Stokes 27, Woakes 8; Washington 2-13, Siraj 2-31)
India 387
England lead by 175 runs
Washington Sundar needed only eight balls after lunch to swing the balance India’s way. First he slipped one under Joe Root’s bat to rattle leg stump – Root’s 40 had been calm, almost routine, until that moment. “I saw him setting for the sweep, so I just tried to keep it straight,” Washington told Sky Sports. Four overs later a quicker delivery skidded past Jamie Smith’s outside edge and kissed off stump. England, suddenly 164 for six, had to shut the game down.
Ben Stokes did exactly that, 27 not out at the break, content to trust Chris Woakes and wait for the second new ball. The tempo, frantic all morning, finally eased.
Earlier, Mohammed Siraj had warmed up down the slope and struck twice in nine deliveries. Ben Duckett fell lbw for 18; Ollie Pope pushed half-heartedly outside off and edged behind. “The slope helps if you hit it hard,” Siraj said, still breathing heavily when grabbed by the host broadcaster. His only frustration came when Root survived on umpire’s call – India burned the review, the ball clipping pad fractionally outside the line.
Zak Crawley followed soon after, steering Nitish Kumar Reddy to a well-placed Yashasvi Jaiswal at gully. Harry Brook counter-punched for 28 before Akash Deep sent a full one into middle stump. At lunch England were 118 for four and the game had started to tilt.
From the commentary box Alastair Cook noted, “Root will be annoyed – the sweep was on but he didn’t cover the spin.” The numbers back him: Washington’s average length today was 10 cm fuller than in the first innings, giving the ball time to skid rather than grip.
India’s immediate concern is the ageing ball (62 overs old) and England’s long tail. Stokes and Woakes have added only 11 so far but both know Lord’s can flatten out late in the day. Mark Wood and Ollie Robinson, competent enough with the bat, wait in the pavilion.
For England the equation is simple: squeeze another 60-70 runs, set something above 230, and hope the overheads and a wearing surface bring their seamers into play. “We’re still in it,” Stokes muttered while walking off, cap pulled low. He is, as ever, banking on one last twist.
