India amble to 316/5 after centurion Rahul gives his wicket away

London: KL Rahul got out to a loose drive after completing his second hundred at Lord’s before Nitish Reddy and Ravindra Jadeja survived a hostile spell of fast bowling from Jofra Archer, leaving India at 316 for five at tea on day three of the third Test here on Saturday.

Rahul reached his 10th hundred in Tests shortly after the lunch break with a single off Archer. He is the second Indian batter after Dilip Vengsarkar (3 hundreds) to score multiple ton at the Lord’s. However, he had a lapse in concentration in the very next over when he went for a drive off a flighted delivery from Shoaib Bashir but ended up edging it to Harry Brook at first slip.

Runs were hard to come by in the session with India accumulating only 68 runs. Jadeja and Reddy, who was hit on the grille off an Archer snorter late in the session, were in the middle at the break.

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Bashir was forced off the field soon after getting into the wickets column as he took a blow on his left finger while fielding off his own bowling.

The poor running between the wickets between Reddy and Jadeja also stood out in the session. Either of them could have been run out thrice.

England took the second new ball immediately but did not get much out of it. Rahul gifting his wicket early in the session was their sole success of the session.

Earlier, Rishabh Pant overcame pain in his left index finger to score an entertaining half-century before getting run out at the stroke of lunch, leaving India at 248 for four in 64 overs.

With Rahul closing in on a ton at the other end, Pant (74 off 112) attempted an avoidable quick single in the last over of the session but England skipper Ben Stokes pulled off a brilliant direct hit running in from cover to give his team something in a session controlled by the opposition.

The partnership between Rahul and Pant yielded 141 runs off 198 balls.

Pant, batted through pain due to the finger injury he suffered while keeping on day one, made his intentions clear even against the express pace of Jofra Archer.

Archer gave Pant freebie on the leg-side to start the day’s proceedings before the southpaw stepped out of the crease for a slash on the offs-side. Barring those two fours, Pant and Rahul chose to be watchful for the first 30 minutes, collecting just 14 runs in seven overs.

The runs began to flow when Rahul perfected a punch off the back foot.

Like England had planned for Shubman Gill, the wicket-keeper was brought close to the stumps in an attempt to deter Pant from leaving his crease. The move worked briefly until Pant decided to step up on the offensive.

In between breaks, Pant was nursing his injured finger with the help of physio.

Resuming the day at 145 for three, India reached 197 for three in the first hour of play. England had requested for a ball change after the opening hour and the request was approved by the umpires.

Rahul had punished Brydon Carse for three successive fours to get a move on his innings.

Pant on other hand pulled Ben Stokes over fine leg to bring up his half-century. His second six of the innings was a six down the ground off Shoaib Bashir.

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