ENG vs IND, 2025, Lord’s Test, Day 3 Highlights: KL Rahul’s century, fifties from Pant and Jadeja help India level scores; England 2/0 at stumps
Brief Scores: India 387 (KL Rahul 100, Rishabh Pant 74, Chris Woakes 3/84) trail England 387 and 2/0 by 2 runs at stumps on Day 3.
At the end of Day 3 of the third Test, India, on the back of a 10th Test century from KL Rahul and half-centuries by Rishabh Pant and Ravindra Jadeja, levelled England’s first innings total. Chris Woakes, who didn’t have the best of outings on Day 2 bowled much better to end with a three-wicket haul.
Pant-Rahul heroics help India reach 248/4 at Lunch
India’s overnight batters KL Rahul and Rishabh Pant took a cautious approach in the initial part of the first session adding 16 runs in the first seven overs of play. Suddenly a flurry of boundaries came from the bat of both these batters as in the next seven, they added 38.
Runs continued to flow in the second hour of the session even as England resorted to short ball tactics, mainly aimed at Pant. The wicket-keeper batter, already nursing a bruised finger, mixed caution with aggression, thwarting the short ball threat.
He looked set to smash his third ton of the series but at the stroke of lunch he lost his wicket through a needless run-out. It took a moment of brilliance on field by Ben Stokes to dismiss Pant and bring England back in the contest.
Read More: ENG vs IND, 2025, 3rd Test, Day 2: Bumrah takes 13th away fifer; India 145-3 after England make 387
Rahul gets his 10th Test ton
Just after the resumption of play post lunch, KL Rahul quickly brought up his second century of the series and second at this venue. Right after, what can be described as a moment of lapse in concentration, Rahul lost his wicket to Shoaib Bashir exactly at 100. This not only slipped India from 248/3 to 254/5, but also meant they had to rebuild the innings.
Things got slow in that session for India as their all-rounders, Ravindra Jadeja and Nitish Reddy, were circumspect in the batting approach. The pair also can consider themselves lucky given the number of run-out opportunities they presented to England and got away with. The hosts bowled relatively well in the session as they conceded just 68 runs.
India level England’s first innings score
After a sedate second session, India showed some sort of urgency in the final session. Ravindra Jadeja got a move on even as Nitish Reddy was dismissed, courtesy of a snorter from Ben Stokes. The left-hander struck his third successive half-century of this series and got support from Washington Sundar, with whom he added 50 for the seventh wicket.
However, unlike England’s first innings, Jadeja’s dismissal triggered a collapse as the last three wickets fell in the passage of 10 runs. In the drama-filled last moments of the day, England managed to scamper to stumps at 2/0 in their second innings.
Read More: ENG vs IND, 2025, 3rd Test, Day 1: Joe Root at 99*; England score 251-4 at just over 3 RPO
What’s to expect on Day 4
At the end of Day 3, there is absolutely nothing that differentiates the two sides in this Test match. The fourth day augurs to be mouth watering one and the Test match is tantalizingly poised.
Statistical Highlights from England vs India, Lord’s Test, Day 3
- KL Rahul joins the elite list of 13 overseas batters to have scored 2 or more hundreds at Lord’s. Dilip Vengsarkar is the only overseas batter to score 3 hundreds at the home of cricket.
- Rahul now has the joint second-most hundreds (4) for an India batter against England in England. Rahul Dravid leads the list with 6 tons.
- Rahul & Pant combined to produce the highest 4th wicket stand (141 runs) for India at Lord’s in Tests.
- Pant (416) now has the most runs as visiting wicket-keeper in England in a single series
- Rahul now has the second most number of runs (1608) as an opener for India in SENA behind Sunil Gavaskar
- Rahul got out for 100. This was the 100th time a batter got out for 100 in men’s Tests.
- This is the ninth instance in Test history that scores are level after the first two innings.
Read More: ENG vs IND, 2025: India’s tail (no. 9-11) needs to wield the bat better
Top Twitter/X reactions from ENG vs IND, 2025, Lord’s Test, Day 3
Such a classy century! @klrahul’s best years yet to come I venture
— Cricketwallah (@cricketwallah) July 12, 2025
KL Rahul shows how colour of clothes or ball doesn't matter if one knows the art of run-making. He can attack but is never rushed, he can defend but never gets stuck. He is an old-fashioned batsman who will never be out of fashion.
— Mohammad Kaif (@MohammadKaif) July 12, 2025
What a way to get out after batting so so well. Rishabh pant’s this innings deserved 💯 n more.
— Irfan Pathan (@IrfanPathan) July 12, 2025
Most Test hundreds for an opener in England since 2018
— Matt Roller (@mroller98) July 12, 2025
4 – KL Rahul
3 – Ben Duckett
2 – Rory Burns, Zak Crawley
It's like he was made to bat in England. Well played @klrahul 👏🏻 Wish he'd got a lot more. #ENGvIND pic.twitter.com/fOmqFdKlf3
— Wasim Jaffer (@WasimJaffer14) July 12, 2025
If the batting coach of the Indian team is spending enough time with the tailenders in the nets it's definitely not reflecting the way they are playing. Indian batting tailenders are like Dobermann dog… without tail.
— Makarand Waingankar (@wmakarand) July 12, 2025
