Team India lost the third Test against England at Lord’s by a narrow margin of 22 runs. Chasing 193 to win, the visitors were bowled out for 170, but not before putting up a valiant fight led by Ravindra Jadeja.
With the last recognised batter in KL Rahul dismissed at 81/6, Jadeja stood firmly with the tail, scoring 61* to nearly pull off the heist for India.
Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj displayed admirable grit, but England bowlers eventually prevailed in closing out the game.
Reflecting on the loss, India skipper Shubman Gill suggested that Rishabh Pant’s run-out just before lunch on Day 3 was the turning point of the match.
Gill also defended Pant and Rahul, saying that the dismissal was not because they were trying to chase personal glory but it was simply an error of judgment.
“We talk a lot about this keeping the team’s interest ahead of personal milestones. But I think it was an error of judgment, rather than wanting to score 100 runs. I think he said it would be better if he scored 100 runs before the lunch. A batsman feels pressure at 99 runs," Gill said in the post-match presser.
“But at the end of the day, I don’t think it was personal and he got run out because of his personal milestone. It was an error of judgment. Rishabh made the call. KL Bhai was running at the danger end. I would say it was an error of judgment. It can happen to any batsman," he added.
According to Gill, Pant’s run-out was a huge blow to India’s chances in the match. At that time, the tourists were in a good position to gain a lead of 50-100 runs in the first innings. Instead, they ended up equalling England’s score of 387.
“Having said that, the most important moment for us was Rishabh’s run out. At one point, we thought we could take the lead by 50 or 100 runs. We knew it wouldn’t be easy to bat on Day 5. The more lead we get in the first innings, the better for us. It puts the other team on the backfoot as well,” Gill said.
After losing the third Test, India are now 1-2 behind in the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy. They can’t afford to lose any more matches or the series will be gone.
The penultimate Test of the five-match series is slated to begin on July 23 at Old Trafford, Manchester.
