Where did India lose the Lord's Test match: Pant's run out, extras, or somewhere else?

India Today

2 days ago

Mohammed Siraj was left in tears after India fluffed their 193-run chase in the final innings of the Lord's Test match. While the scorecard says that India lost by just 22 runs in the Day 5 shoot out at Lord's, the reality of the matter is that India's margin of loss was reduced by two intense lower-order stands between Ravindra Jadeja, Jasprit Bumrah, and Mohammed Siraj.advertisementThere were mixed reviews on Jadeja's innings of 61 runs. The left-hander scored his slowest half-century in his Test career, in an innings that took a lot of patience in tricky conditions. He formed two partnerships with Bumrah and Siraj that lasted a combined 34 overs.However, questions were raised about Ravindra Jadeja's approach - if he got too defensive - which hampered India's progress in the game. But more on that later.
ENG vs IND, 3rd Test: Match ReportComing into Day 5 of the Test match, India spinner Washington Sundar was extremely confident. In an interview with Sky Sports, Washington had proclaimed that India would 100 per cent win the game on the final day.Washington's photo has now become a meme, widely shared on social media on Sunday, after India fluffed a game that they seemed to be on top of even till halfway through Day 4 of the Test match.So where did India lose the game? Was it the failure of the top order in the second innings? Or should we isolate the Rishabh Pant run-out on Day 3? Or was it the host of extras that India conceded against the moving ball across two innings of this game?Here's a look:Reckless Shubman and JaiswalThe first and the most obvious one is, of course, India's horrible batting effort in the second innings. For a top order that has done so well in this series, India's reckless attitude with the bat came as a shock.Yashasvi Jaiswal was the main culprit, getting enticed into hitting a short ball from Jofra Archer - one that could have been left alone. Jaiswal's wicket set the tone for the rest to follow, as Shubman Gill and Karun Nair succumbed under intense pressure from the English seamers.Gill, in his 9-ball stay, looked like a walking wicket. Barring one cover drive, Gill looked like he would nick balls on both the on and off side.Losing 4 wickets for 58 late on Day 4 completely changed the momentum of the game and helped England complete a nervy victory at Lord's.Ravindra Jadeja's Lack of IntentadvertisementWhile the dismissals of Shubman, Jaiswal, and even Rishabh Pant early on Day 5 put India under pressure, there was still hope. The target of 193 runs was achievable, especially for a batting order that has been designed to tackle these situations.Gautam Gambhir's preference for the extra batter (Washington Sundar), which elongates the Indian tail, should have done the job. But it didn't.Ravindra Jadeja, being put under tremendous pressure, scored the slowest half-century of his Test career, reaching his milestone in 153 balls.
Courtesy: Reuters
Former India head coach Ravi Shastri argued while commentating during his innings that Jadeja should have taken more chances in his innings, instead of inviting pressure on himself.However, it needs to be mentioned that Jadeja only had Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj for company in the final part of the innings, and perhaps that pressure got the better of him at that point. Jadeja did survive for 181 balls, and a little bit of support from the top order could have tilted the game in India's favour.advertisementHaving said that, Jadeja batted for 38 balls in a partnership with Nitish Reddy, which lasted 91 deliveries. In those 38 balls, Jadeja scored 9 and Nitish scored 13 (off 58). That is perhaps where India should have gathered more runs.KL Rahul's Drop of Jamie SmithIf we go further back in the match, the story gets a little more complicated than just a failure in the second innings shootout. When England opted to bat in a home Test match - for only the second time in the entire Bazball era - it was clear that they were under pressure.England were tottering at 271/7 after batting slowly for one and a half days. India had them by the scruff of their necks in the first session, having taken three quick wickets on Day 2 morning. Ideally, India should have finished off England quickly after that, but they did not.A silly drop of Jamie Smith at 5 ended up costing India more than 100 runs after 271/7. Smith scored 51, while seamer Brydon Carse added 56 of his own. This propelled England's total to 387 runs - one that perhaps got a little too much for the Indian team.advertisementDinesh Karthik, speaking on Sky Sports, explained that there were a lot of small mistakes that compounded on India throughout the Test match -mistakes that should have been avoided."You have to look at the whole Test, not what happened today..."Dinesh Karthik on why India came out on the losing side in the third Test ?? pic.twitter.com/jH8Zd1x11U— Sky Sports Cricket (@SkyCricket) July 14, 2025This also reflects the dire need for the Indian tail to contribute some runs to the innings. While the hosts reached 387 after being down to 271/7, India on the other hand folded from 250/4 to 387-all-out in their first innings at Lord's.Rishabh Pant's Run-Out CrucialNow, if we are really nitpicking, this is perhaps the moment that cost India the most. Rishabh Pant, batting with panache, fell into a trap of an unnecessary run-out in the first innings. Pant, wanting to bring KL Rahul on strike, took on Ben Stokes at short cover and ended up losing his wicket off a direct throw.Rishabh wanted to get KL on strike, who wanted to reach his hundred as soon as possible, but ended up losing his wicket in the process.This essentially began the Indian collapse, and was acknowledged by Shubman Gill in the post-match press conference as well.advertisement"At one point, we felt we could get a 50–100 run lead, which would've been massive on Day 5 when batting gets tough. That was a big turning point. Had we secured that lead, we could've put England on the back foot," Shubman said after the game.Extras Against Moving BallIndia conceded a total of 63 runs in extras in the Lord's Test match. The slope, mixed with a ball that seamed really late, made Dhruv Jurel's life difficult behind the wickets.Gill acknowledged the issue but added that apart from two possible boundaries, the keeper would not have been able to do much about it.India's 32 extras in the second innings were England's third-highest contributor to their innings total of 192. Only Joe Root (40) and Ben Stokes (33) were ahead of the runs scored in extras on Day 4 of the Test match.The loss at Lord's means that India are 1-2 down after 3 Tests in the series. The two teams will enjoy a big game before the 4th game at Manchester. India would hope that the break allows them to recuperate and fix the minor issues in their game before the next game.- EndsTune InMust Watch