Thisngs got heated up on Day 5 of the third India vs England Test at Lord's on Monday. After Rishabh Pant, KL Rahul and Washington Sundar departed in quick succession, England smelt blood. With only three wickets remaining, England went into ultra aggressive mode. Jofra Archer, Ben Stokes, Brydon Carse targetted Nitish Kumar Reddy and Ravindra Jadeja with choicest of words. Things went bit too far ahead when Jadeja collided with Brydon Carse while taking a run. A heated spat followed.
On the final ball of the 35th over, the players barged into each other when Jadeja went for the first run. It appeared Carse had intentionally held Jadeja by his neck. After completing the run, Jadeja fumed at Carse, who gave it back. Stokes had to intervene to calm things down.
Indian batters failed to stand the test of England pacers led by Jofra Archer on a spicy day five pitch to slide to the brink of defeat in the third Test. Chris Woakes had Nitish Reddy caught behind at the stroke of lunch to leave India tottering at 112 for eight chasing 193.
Starting the day at 58 for four and needing another 135 runs on a rapidly deteriorating surface with variable bounce, India needed their experienced batters to fire for their fourth success at the iconic ground since 1932 but it was not to be.
The loss of Rishabh Pant (9 off 12 balls), K L Rahul (39 off 58) and Washington Sundar (0 off 4) inside the first hour made chasing 193 an improbable task for India.
The key for India was the presence of Rahul and Pant in the middle but both departed in a space of 18 balls. They needed to see out Archer's spell but the tearaway pacer struck twice in a fiery spell to put England on top.
Pant, who injured his left index finger while keeping on day one, clearly looked in discomfort facing the extreme pace of Archer, wincing his hand in pain every time the ball hurried on to his bat.
Pant tried his best to make a difference, collecting a couple of fours via a flick and a one-handed drive off the Barbados-born bowler.
Archer, making a Test comeback after more than four years, flaunted his X-factor once again as he produced a beauty to send back a half-fit Pant back into the dressing room.
The ball straightened just enough from the angle to shatter Pant's off-stump.
Considering the occasion and the high intensity of players from both teams, it was not a surprise to see Archer having a quick word to Pant as the wicket-keeper started his long walk back to the players' balcony via the legendary Long Room.
Rahul, at the other end, needed to hold the innings together but when he departed three overs after Pant's dismissal, the writing was on the wall.
England captain Ben Stokes bowled his heart out from the Nursery End and got the all important wicket of the in-form Rahul with a ball that seamed back profusely to trap him lbw.
The on-field umpire thought the ball was not hitting the stumps but Stokes got the decision overturned, drawing a loud roar from the crowd, through the DRS.
With PTI inputs