3rd Test: KL Rahul hits unbeaten 53 as India trail England by 242 runs after reaching 145/3

London, July 11 (IANS) KL Rahul ensured India ended Day Two of the third Test of the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy series with a hard-fought 53 not out as the visitors trail England by 242 runs after reaching 145/3 in 43 overs at stumps at the Lord's here on Friday.

With England’s bowlers asking varied questions to the Indian batters on a slow pitch showing signs of quickening up, Rahul was at his patient and determined best to hit five boundaries in his knock coming off 113 balls.

With Rishabh Pant by his side on 19 not out, Rahul will hold the key for India to inch closer to England’s first innings total of 387, with Jasprit Bumrah claiming 5-74 in his 27 overs.

Bumrah, playing just his second Test match at the Lord’s, picked his 13th five-wicket haul at the iconic venue and has now gone past the legendary Kapil Dev to hold the record for most five-fors picked by an Indian bowler in overseas conditions.

Despite Joe Root making 104 - his 37th Test century, 11th against India and eighth at Lord's, England were in trouble at 271/7 before Smith and Brydon Carse added 84 runs for the eighth wicket to keep the hosts in high spirits on a slow pitch and a scorching day.

While Smith made 51, after being dropped by Rahul on five, Carse hit 56 – his maiden Test fifty, as England were also aided by India conceding 31 extras.

The final session began with Karun Nair beautifully driving Carse through cover for four, before slicing him behind point for another boundary. On the other hand, Rahul leaned into the drive off Ben Stokes to bisect mid-off and cover beautifully for four, before surviving an lbw appeal off Stokes, as England also burnt a review.

Root then played a central role in England getting its second wicket, as he took a stunning one-handed diving catch at slip to dismiss Nair off Stokes’ bowling for 40. The catch also helped Root (211) go past Rahul Dravid (210) to take the record for most catches in Tests.

Even as Rahul kept his calm while flicking and glancing for picking boundaries, Shubman Gill endured a slow start by just defending everything coming his way from England’s bowlers. England’s ploy of having the wicketkeeper stand up to his stumps and have close catchers around worked wonders when Woakes’ wobble-seam delivery took a defending Gill’s edge, and the feather edge was caught behind by Smith.

With Pant, coming out after suffering a left index finger injury, hitting three quick boundaries off Shoaib Bashir, including a swipe over mid-wicket to perfection, Rahul brought up his fifty off 97 balls and maintained his zen-like composure till stumps arrived on a fascinating day of Test cricket.

Brief scores:

England 387 in 112.3 overs (Joe Root 104, Brydon Carse 56; Jasprit Bumrah 5-74, Nitish Kumar Reddy 2-62) lead India 145/3 in 43 overs (KL Rahul 53 not out, Karun Nair 40; Ben Stokes 1-16, Jofra Archer 1-22) by 242 runs

--IANS

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