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Tea
52nd over: England 175-6 (Stokes 27, Woakes 8) Stokes pushes Jadeja between the legs of short leg, who didn’t have time to get down. Woakes is then beaten by a gorgeous delivery, much slower and bowled from wider on the crease.
This is so good, and there’s another two-and-a-half hours to come after tea. The match remains in the balance after another compelling session. England scored 77 in 27 overs for the loss of two wickets – but they were the wickets India wanted most, Joe Root and Jamie Smith.
The consensus is that India are fractionally ahead in the game. I think it’s closer than that.
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51st over: England 173-6 (Stokes 26, Woakes 7) Stokes continues to defend almost solemnly against Washington. Every particle of his being is fighting to produce another Lord’s epic.
An accurate maiden ends with a good delivery that boings past the edge as Stokes goes back to defend.
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50th over: England 173-6 (Stokes 26, Woakes 7) Woakes is beaten by a horrible delivery from Jadeja, speared in, just short of a length, from round the wicket before straightening dramatically. Time for two more overs before tea.
“Congratulations!” says John Starbuck. “I bet you were kept awake last night pondering the possibility of ‘Mr Smith goes to Washington’, delighted to get the chance to use it, and hopeful of the Guardian’s Quotes of the Year options.”
No no, I can take no credit. A reader by the name of Ray Murphy coined the phrase (at least on these pages) when Washington dismissed Steve Smith in the 2020-21 Border/Gavaskar series. And here’s the proof.
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49th over: England 170-6 (Stokes 25, Woakes 5) Woakes skips down to clip Washington between mid-on and midwicket for four. That’s a fine shot.
The ball is spitting, as you’d expect on a pitch that has been in the oven for nearly four days. It sounds like Shoaib Bashir will be able to bowl despite the injury to his left hand. He’ll surely bat too, even if it’s one-handed like Malcolm Marshall in 1984.
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Updated at 16.39 CEST
48th over: England 165-6 (Stokes 24, Woakes 1) Maiden from Jadeja to Woakes.
Domink Hindal has shared an intriguing stat from Cricbuzz: since 2024, when playing the conventional sweep in Tests, Joe Root has scored 101 runs at an average of 17. I’d like to see the dismissals, and his sweeping stats before 2024, but an average that low suggests it’s not the safe shot many of us thought.
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47th over: England 165-6 (Stokes 24, Woakes 1) There have been a number of dramatic momentum shifts in this brilliant Test match. We’re in the midst of another: England were 154 for 4 and eyeing 250+. Now they’re 165 for 6 and could struggle to reach 200.
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Updated at 16.28 CEST
England are in bother. Washington bowled Root round his legs and now he has done Smith on the outside. Smith pushed defensively down the wrong line and was mortified to see the ball go straight on to plink the off stump.
I’d like to see the replay again as there was probably some drift involved. Not that it matters: the big news is that Jamie Smith is out and India are into the bowlers.
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WICKET! England 164-6 (Smith b Washington 6)
Mr Smith goes to Washington!
Washington Sundar of India celebrates taking the wicket of Jamie Smith of England. Photograph: Alex Davidson/Getty ImagesShare
Updated at 16.32 CEST
46th over: England 162-5 (Stokes 24, Smith 6) Jadeja bowls his fifth over, the ninth of spin in this innings. The only attacking strokes I can recall are sweeps, most of them unsuccessful; Stokes tries another and is hit on the pad outside the line.
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45th over: England 159-5 (Stokes 23, Smith 4) Smith has started calmly, getting a long way forward to smother the spin whenever possible. Once he gets his eye in he will surely try to reverse the pressure. What England would give for a Gilchristian cameo today.
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44th over: England 158-5 (Stokes 23, Smith 3) Jadeja’s over ends with a hopeful LBW appeal when Stokes is beaten by a sharply spinning delivery. There was doubt over height, line and point of contact; that aside it was plumb.
Stokes doesn’t look comfortable against Jadeja. Few left-handers would with the ball growling out of the footmarks.
“Extras seem to be a marker of difference in this match,” writes John Starbuck. “India gave England 31 of them in the first innings while England gave India only 12. It looks odd because you can’t blame the pitch or other conditions. I know Shubman Gill is a relatively novice captain, but he should be cracking down on this.”
I think that’s a bit harsh. There’s not much he – or Dhruv Jurel, who is a world-class keeper – could do about the byes and leg-byes. The no-balls and wides are even.
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43rd over: England 155-5 (Stokes 23, Smith 1) The new batter Jamie Smith advances calmly to drive a single to long on. It feels weird saying this with Ben Stokes at the crease, at Lord’s, but Smith is now the key wicket for India.
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WICKET! England 154-5 (Root b Washington 40)
Another dramatic twist in a game chockfull of them. Joe Root, possibly the best sweeper in the world, has been bowled round his legs by Washington Sundar!
I don’t believe that. Root rarely fails to middle a sweep, never mind miss one completely. He got too far across and the ball zipped on to hit middle and leg.
In very different ways, the world’s No1 and No2 batters have been bowled round their legs in the space of three hours.
Joe Root of England is bowled by Washington Sundar of India. Photograph: Alex Davidson/Getty ImagesShare
Updated at 16.16 CEST
42nd over: England 153-4 (Root 40, Stokes 21) Stokes has struggled against Jadeja for most of his career, and on pitches offering less than this. He tries to reverse the pressure with a reverse sweep but toe-ends it meekly on the leg side; then he nails a hard sweep for a single. This is compelling stuff.
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41st over: England 149-4 (Root 39, Stokes 20) Washington wasn’t just an end-change facilitator: he stays on for as second over and is treated with caution by Stokes. A maiden.
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40th over: England 149-4 (Root 38, Stokes 20) Yep, Jadeja does change ends, and completes an uneventful over in the time it takes me to type the first half of this sentence.
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39th over: England 147-4 (Root 37, Stokes 19) Washington replaces Jadeja after just one over, presumably to facilitate a change of ends, and promptly gets one to spit at Root from outside off stump. Root plays it well.
This pitch has got something for everybody. Okay, for every bowler.
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38th over: England 145-4 (Root 36, Stokes 18) That was so, so close. For the umpteenth time it showed the importance of the on-field decision. I hadn’t realised at first that Root walked both across the stumps and down the pitch. That’s why it looked plumb to the naked eye rather than very, very close.
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Root is not out! Goodness me, the margins in this game. Root walked across to Siraj, missed a flick to leg and was hit on the pad in front of off and middle. To the naked eye it looked out. But to the ball-tracking it was umpire’s call, hitting the outside of leg stump, so Root survives. Siraj, who is probably box office when he’s brushing his teeth, punches the air in frustration.
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Thanks Jim, hello ever– never mind the pleasantries, India have just called for a very good-looking LBW review against Joe Root. I think this is out.
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Updated at 15.54 CEST
James Wallace
37th over: England 140-4 (Root 36, Stokes 15) We’re going to have some spin for the first time in the innings. Ravindra Jadeja is summoned to see if he can break this partnership between Root and Stokes. Root reverse paddles and Jadeja fancies it as an lbw but runs are given as it came straight off the bat. The single brings up the fifty partnership, England are re-building. Wiser sages than I suggest that England won’t be comfortable unless they get to a lead of three hundred or more but I can definitely see them defending something around 250 on this wearing wicket.
Anyway, it’s time for a slurp of electrolytes/Tizer for the players, here’s Rob Smyth to take you through the rest of the day. It promises to be a belter. Thanks for your company and correspondence, bye!
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Updated at 15.48 CEST
36th over: England 135-4 (Root 33, Stokes 14) Siraj slides another four byes down the leg side, England have now benefitted to the tune of 25 runs from byes – second highest scorer, thank you very much. Siraj has his dander up (when does he not?) and hammers away at a good length, targeting the top of off stump and nibbling it about. Gets one to nip back to Root and it clips the pad on the way to Jurel, Siraj goes up but KL Rahul spoils the party by indicating it wasn’t off the edge. Root clips away for two into the leg side to keep England ticking.
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35th over: England 129-4 (Root 31, Stokes 14) Thick edge from Stokes and it flashes away over gully for four amongst the dots from Bumrah.
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34th over: England 125-4 (Root 31, Stokes 10) Root is nearly cleaned up by an inswinger by Siraj, goes for the drive but it misses everything and beats Jurel to skitter away for four byes.
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33rd over: England 119-4 (Root 30, Stokes 9) Bumrah is getting the ball to snake and jag off the wicket but is still, incredulously, wicketless so far in this innings. Stokes survives a nip-backer that hit him too high on the pad to be in real danger. It’s a maiden as both sides tussle for the ascendancy.
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Updated at 15.25 CEST
32nd over: England 119-4 (Root 30, Stokes 9) Root nearly drags on to Siraj! A full ball outside off and Root’s eyes lit up. He almost tried to hit it too hard and an inside edge canons into his shoe and dribbles past the stumps. Root chopped on in the first innings and would have been furious to get out to that shot. India know that Root’s wicket is the golden ticket.
Getting hit in the ‘lower region’ with a cricket ball will definitely slow you down. Photograph: Stu Forster/Getty ImagesShare
Updated at 15.28 CEST
31st over: England 118-4 (Root 30, Stokes 8) Edges of seats are inched onto around Lord’s as Bumrah judders in from the Nursery End. This is the end from which most of the variable bounce has come from but there’s no sign of it in this over. Stoke clips a single off his hip and Root dots out the rest.
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Updated at 15.25 CEST
30th over: England 117-4 (Root 30, Stokes 7) It’s been a soporific re-start after lunch but that could all be about to change as Jasprit Bumrah is summoned.
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29th over: England 115-4 (Root 28, Stokes 7) The pitch goes up and down again from the Nursery End. Stokes is pranged amidships to a short ball that scuttles through lower than he thought. Deep breaths, Benjamin. Three more added to England’s total amongst the huffin’ and puffin’.
Love this from Scott Blair:
“I don’t generally bother too much with sport – I’m at the age where any kind of jeopardy can become unsettling – but I’d bought “Sky” for the month to watch the Lions tour.
Didn’t realise the cricket was included, to be frank…and now I don’t remember a more entertaining Sunday morning. What a game test cricket can be!”
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28th over: England 112-4 (Root 26, Stokes 6) Root accumulates three runs off Akash Deep without any fuss.
Ram Sridhar is feeling bullish…
“Brook can’t be blamed for that extravagant shot. How else would the game move forward?. Had it come off, there would have glorified his batting. Also this will not be a straight forward chase. Anything >150, England should win.”
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27th over: England 109-4 (Root 23, Stokes 6) Siraj from the Nursery End. He likes the look of an lbw appeal to Root but it didn’t have much going for it, Root got outside the line and Gill does well not to buckle to the demands of his excitable bowler. Root scampers a run to get a leg bye and brings Stokes on strike. Bosh! Stokes cuts a wide ball away for an emphatic four.
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Updated at 15.01 CEST
26th over: England 100-4 (Root 18, Stokes 2) Akash Deep starts from the Pavilion End to Joe Root, Root gets a tickle on a length ball but Jurel spills it! No mither – it was a front foot no ball – Not that Root knew that when he feathered the edge. A steered single from Root takes England to three figures.
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Righto, where’s you moolah on this one? The players emerge after lunch and a pivotal session is about to get underway.
Anand is already getting a bit jittery from an Indian perspective… feels a bit premature!
“Afternoon James! Cracking morning session and the afternoon one promises much. I reckon 150 to 175 is what India can chase. Anything more would be difficult with Archer’s extra pace and Stokes in good rhythm. Add Lord’s specialist Woakes and it already looks as steep as the slope. However, I do wish to be proven wrong.”
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Updated at 14.48 CEST
Lunch: England 98-4, leading by, well, 98 runs.
Bumrah finds some hooping swing but fires down the leg side to gift England four more byes. Stokes gets off the mark with an outside edge for two wide of gully and then plays a textbook forward defence to the next ball. Can England make it to lunch without losing another? Four in a morning is quite enough thankyou. A bouncer from Bumrah is swayed under from Stokes. One ball left… Stokes blocks it and survives.
A brilliant, magnetic session of cricket comes to a close.
I need a lie down. Or a pint. Or both.
25th over: England 98-4 (Root 17, Stokes 2)
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Updated at 14.05 CEST
24th over: England 91-4 (Root 16, Stokes 0) Hands on heads from India as Stokes edges Akash Deep but the ball lands just short of the cordon! Swing and a miss from Stokes! A pull across the line but the ball is too full, it beats Stokes and Jurel and runs away for four byes. England will take ‘em. They need ‘em.
There will be one last over from Bumrah before lunch. Buckle up.
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23rd over: England 87-4 (Root 16, Stokes 0) Root survives a probing maiden from Bumrah.
Brook was undone by his own arrogance/bravado but also a subtle change in the field from Shubman Gill who moved a fielder fine to long leg to prevent Brook scooping fine for four as he had done twice in the previous over. Brook attempted to sweep in order to hit the ball squarer, a harder shot and one he is less proficient at. He left his stumps exposed and paid the price. Akash Deep celebrated with real fervour too, a big big moment in the game and series.
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22nd over: England 87-4 (Root 16, Stokes 0) Ben Stokes strides out to a hearty cheer but it belies plenty of nerves from the home fans here at Lord’s. His side need him to deliver a score right here, right now. Ayeeeee! Deep whistles one past Stokes’ edge first ball. Pulsating cricket and guess what – Jasprit Bumrah is coming on for a couple of overs before lunch. Gulp.
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WICKET! Harry Brook b Akash Deep 23 (England 87-4)
Huge moment in the game as Harry Brook attempts the slog sweep to Akash Deep and sees his middle stump splattered! The India players are cock-a-bleedin’-hoop as well they might be – that twists the needle their way significantly. Brooks’ counter-attack is snuffed out ten minutes before lunch.
Harry Brook is out for 23! Photograph: Stu Forster/Getty ImagesShare
Updated at 13.55 CEST
21st over: England 84-3 (Root 13, Brook 23) Liquid wrists from Brook as he pings a full ball from Reddy through midwicket for four.
”I’m not quite on the ‘get Crawley in the bin’ camp yet” writes an exceedingly well balanced Toby Sims, “half because of my ignorance of alternatives, and because there have been some very fun opening partnerships (not something we get to say that often). Willing to be corrected, but pragmatic at the moment.
One thing Barney did get right is the easy life compared to previous eras. I’ve always thought Michael Carberry would have absolutely loved being in this side and it would have suited him. Perhaps rose tinted hindsight, but I thought after that walloping Down Under, he at least came out with credit, and should have been treated better.
Anyway, I’m off to ignore the cricket for an hour and hope we don’t get in the bin in the meantime.”
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20th over: England 77-3 (Root 10, Brook 19) The counter attack is on! Harry Brook scoops consecutive fours off Akash Deep and then bunts a full delivery down the ground and into the Pavilion for SIX! Shades of Pietersen to McGrath here in 2005 with that shot. The members on their feet and giving it the full ‘what-ho’ with gusto.
“It’s wonderful cricket to watch, this” Mike Atherton exhales on the Sky commentary. He’s played and seen quite a bit in his time too.
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