The China Mail - England and India set for second-innings shoot-out as third Test turns fiery

India were in command while opener Rahul and dynamic left-hander Rishabh Pant (74) shared a fourth-wicket stand of 141.

But both batsmen fell either side of lunch on the third day to leave India's first innings in the balance at 254-5.

Jadeja and fellow all-rounder Nitish Kumar Reddy, however, kept England at bay with a stand of 72 in 27 overs.

But India were unable to surpass England's first-innings total in the latest sign of just how evenly matched the teams are in a five-match series currently level at 1-1.

England should have had two overs to bat before stumps.

Zak Crawley twice pulled away as Jasprit Bumrah ran into bowl, leading India to think he was time-wasting.

And after Bumrah's fifth delivery, the England opener further angered India by calling for the physio, although there would have been time for only one more delivery as the clock had already ticked round to the close time of 6:30 pm (1730 GMT).

India players swarmed around Crawley, with captain Shubman Gill exchanging words with the England opener.

The incident had been something of an accident waiting to happen given the umpires had allowed several unscheduled drinks breaks and other delays during India's innings.

The upshot was that England only faced one over before they reached stumps narrowly ahead at 2-0.

- 'Theatrics' -

"I understand from an opening batter's point of view, it's something that happens a lot, quite a lot of theatrics at the end," Rahul told the BBC after stumps.

India were poised to bat through the morning session without losing a wicket.

But, in the last over before lunch, Pant was run-out by England captain Ben Stokes' direct hit from cover-point as he tried to get Rahul, 98 not out at the interval, back on strike to complete his century before the break.

Rahul did get to a hundred but was out edging off-spinner Shoaib Bashir to slip off the next ball he faced.

On another hot and energy-sapping day at Lord's, India resumed on 145-3.

Rahul was 53 not out with wicketkeeper Pant, off the field for much of England's innings following a finger injury, unbeaten on 19.

There had been joyous scenes at Lord's on Friday when Jofra Archer marked his return to Test cricket following more than four years of injury-induced exile with a third-ball dismissal of Yashasvi Jaiswal.

But Archer's first ball Saturday was glanced fine for four by Pant as the express fast bowler strayed in line.

Rahul then drove Brydon Carse for four and later glanced, square-cut and clipped the fast bowler for three more elegant boundaries in successive deliveries.

Pant who scored twin hundreds in India's defeat in the first Test at Headingley and a quickfire 65 in a series-levelling win at Edgbaston, completed a 55-ball fifty in style by hooking all-rounder Stokes for six.

After lunch, Rahul's quick single saw him to a 176-ball hundred, including 13 fours -- his 10th century in 61 Tests and second at Lord's after the 33-year-old's 129 in 2021.

But Rahul's next ball proved his undoing when, pushing forward to a well-flighted Bashir delivery, he edged to Harry Brook at slip.

"It's not been easy having to bat all around that top six, it's nice to finally get a spot where I've batted a lot," said Rahul, who also made a hundred at Headingley.

Jadeja went to his half-century by driving part-time off-spinner Joe Root for four -- the newly-promoted number six's third consecutive 50-plus score after innings of 89 and 69 not out at Edgbaston.

The all-rounder also lofted Root for six before he was 'strangled' down the legside by Chris Woakes.

Tailender Akash Deep, who narrowly avoided twice being lbw in three balls to Woakes, whipped the first ball of Archer's new spell for a six over long leg in the manner of a top-order batsman.

Deep then fell as Brook took a blinding catch at slip off Carse, before Woakes saw off Bumrah immediately after India tied the scores and Washington Sundar (23) skied Archer to Brook at long stop as the tourists lost their last four wickets for just 11 runs in six overs.

P.Deng--ThChM