Crisis man Jadeja keeps India’s hopes alive in Lord’s Test

Ravindra Jadeja kept India on the hunt with a superb undefeated half century as the visitors’ lost one wicket in the post-lunch session to reach 163/9 in their hunt for 193 at Tea on the final day of the Lord’s Test against England.

Resuming the final session at 113/8, the visitors lost Jasprit Bumrah after the star quick added 35 runs for the ninth wicket with Jadeja.

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England skipper Ben Stokes ended the resistance from the Indian pair but that was the only moment to cherish as Mohammed Siraj and Jadeja then kept the hosts waiting in an extended second session.

By tea, the duo had added 16 runs in an unbroken stand for the final wicket to take the equation down to 30 runs.

Earlier, England came to Lord’s looking for six wickets on day five. They bagged four of them before lunch in an inspired morning’s play where their captain Ben Stokes and their returning premier fast bowler Jofra Archer turned the heat on the opposition before Chris Woakes reduced them to 112/8 in the chase of 193.

With momentum already swinging late on Day 4 through three quick wickets, the hosts made early inroads on Day 5 to take firm command. Archer struck first, sending Rishabh Pant’s off-stump flying after being hit to the boundary a couple of times. The fiery celebration that followed showed just how fired up England quickly was.

Stokes then trapped KL Rahul in front with a sharp nip-backer. Though the umpire initially turned down the appeal, England reviewed successfully as ball-tracking showed three reds. Archer struck again the very next over, this time plucking a stunning low return catch to dismiss Washington Sundar for a duck.

India had lost three wickets for just 11 runs in four overs and were floundering at 82 for 7 when Nitish Reddy and Ravindra Jadeja came together in a last-ditch effort.

The duo dug in under immense pressure, improving communication between the wickets after their earlier mix-ups in the first innings. The deficit was chipped away slowly, even though India went through a stretch of 80 deliveries without a boundary.

Like the previous days, tensions continued to run high with constant chatter from close-in fielders. One flashpoint came when Jadeja collided with Brydon Carse during a tight second run, leading to an exchange of words before Stokes stepped in to defuse the situation.

Reddy, impressive in defence, hung around for nearly an hour but fell just at the stroke of Lunch when Woakes returned to nick him off for 13, taking England within touching distance of glory at the Home of Cricket.