India's batting faltered under pressure as they suffered a 22 run defeat in the third Test against England at Lord's on Monday, July 14, 2025.
Chasing 193 for victory, India succumbed to England's relentless pace attack, which bowled with unyielding intensity in the second innings.
Ravindra Jadeja was the lone bright spot for India on the final day, scoring a gritty 61, while K L Rahul was the only batter to score above 30 in an otherwise dismal showing by the Indian batters.
Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj bowled with a lot of fire but they lacked support while Captain Shubman Gill's flop show with the bat exposed the fragile batting unit.
What went wrong for India at Lord's:
Pant's Run Out
Rishabh Pant's run out in the first innings was one of the biggest turning points of the match.
Pant risked a quick single to bring K L Rahul on strike, hoping to help the latter complete his century before lunch.
However, Pant was caught short of his crease courtesy of a brilliant piece of fielding from Ben Stokes in the covers, who quickly got to the ball, swiveled around and broke the stumps at the non-striker's end with a direct hit.
The in-form Pant was looking good on 74, hitting eight fours and two sixes, putting on 141 runs for the fourth wicket with Rahul.
Pant and Rahul helped India dominate the morning session on Day 3 as the visitors scored 103 runs in 22.3 overs before the run out shifted the momentum dramatically.
Pant's dismissal saw England seize the momentum as Rahul also departed after the lunch break, soon after after completing his century.
It was only thanks to Ravindra Jadeja's gutsy knock of 72 that India were able to cross 350.
In the second innings, Pant, who was hampered by a finger injury, was unable to contribute with the bat. Pant was clearly in pain after the injury sustained while keeping as he struggled to bat on Day 5 before he was bowled by Jofra Archer for nine.
His early dismissal on the fifth day set the tone for England's victory as the rest of the Indian batters were unable to force the pace on the final day.
Gill's Twin Failures
England managed to find a way to halt Shubman Gill's incredible run with the bat, which proved crucial in their success at Lord's.
England's tactics to keep Gill rooted to his crease by having the wicket-keeper stand up to the stumps against the pacers paid off in the first innings.
Jamie Smith took a sensational catch standing up to pacer Chris Woakes after Gill edged the outswinger to be dismissed for 16. Smith barely had any time to react but did well to get his gloves in line to pouch the ball.
In the second innings, Brydon Carse bowled a beauty to trap Gill plumb in front as the skipper was completely done in by the sharp inswinger. His wicket saw India collapse from 41/1 to 53/3 before nightwatchman Akash Deep also perished before stumps on Day 4.
Gill's arguments with the umpires over changing the ball and his aggressive clashes against England's players also didn't impress many.
Karun Nair's Struggles
Karun Nair forced his way into the Indian Test team after plundering tons of runs in domestic cricket. However, the second coming hasn't gone to script for the veteran right-hander.
The 33 year old has time and again thrown away bright starts to tally only 131 runs across six innings at a below-par average of 21.83, including four scores of above 20.
In the first Test agt Headingley, he batted at No. 6 before the team was rejigged and he was accommodated at No. 3 in place of the young Sai Sudarshan, who was axed after just one outing.
In the last two Tests, Karun was unable to provide the solidity associated with the crucial No. 3 slot, despite getting off to starts with scores of 31, 26, 40 and 14 on good batting wickets.
It looks unlikely that India will persist with him in the must-win fourth Test at Old Trafford in Manchester as Sai Sudharsan could return at No. 3.
India are also paying the price for not picking up specialist middle order batters for the England series, having omitted the likes of Sarfaraz Khan and Shreyas Iyer.
They have instead resorted to filling their team with all-rounders as three of them played at Lord's including Jadeja, Washington Sundar and Nitish Kumar Reddy.
While Jadeja proved his worth with the bat with two fifties, his lack of wickets is a big concern. Second spinner Sundar was effective with the ball in the second innings, picking up 4/22, but couldn't do much with the bat.
Reddy also didn't make much of an impact, taking three wickets and scoring 43 in the two innings. With Jadeja showing great form with the bat, India must opt for a specialist bowler in Reddy's place to give the bowling attack much more depth.
Jaiswal's reckless approach
Gautam Gambhir, known for his strict approach, will surely have strong words for Yashasvi Jaiswal.
Jaiswal found Jofra Archer's pace too hot to handle at Lord's. However, the reckless shot which caused his downfall in the second innings must serve as a big learning.
He could take a cue on how England's batters respected the conditions and abandoned their Bazball approach in the first innings to adjust to a difficult pitch on the opening day.
While Jaiswal has the licence to play his natural game, he must also be aware on how to adjust his game to the match situation and the conditions.
In the first innings, the young left-hander attempted a loose flick across the line off Archer in the second over only to get the edge and was caught in the slips for 13.
In the second innings, his wild swing had everyone fuming as he top edged the pull shot off Archer to be caught by wicket-keeper Jamie Smith for a duck.
Jaiswal has enjoyed a stellar Test career so far, and this twin failure at Lord's should serve as a timely wake-up call.
Batting Collapses
India's lower order once again capitulated quite tamely in the first innings.
At 376/6, India were expected to take the first innings lead but they suffered a lower order collapse and finished level on England's first innings total of 387. The visitors lost their last four wickets for 11 runs as the England pace attack ran through the lower order to deny India the lead.
With the pitch getting increasingly difficult for batting, India's failure to take the lead proved crucial in the final analysis as the margin of defeat was only 22 runs.
The Indian batters struggled on a tough pitch with uneven bounce in the second innings as the top and middle order collapsed as they slipped to 82/7.
Dropped Catches
The fielding was once a big letdown for India, with four catches put down in the England first innings.
Rahul's dropped catch to give Jamie Smith the reprieve hurt India the most. Smith was batting on one when he was put down by K L Rahul at second slip off Mohammed Siraj.
Smith made the Indians pay big time for that lapse as he went on to smash 51 from 56 balls, putting on 84 runs for the eighth wicket with Brydon Carse, who was also dropped twice off the unlucky Siraj.
Smith and Carse both struck fifties which helped England recover after three quick wickets to post 387.
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