Siraj Shines as India Puts England on the Back Foot in Third Test at Lord’s

LONDON – Mohammed Siraj delivered a fiery spell on Sunday morning as India tightened their grip on the third Test against England at Lord’s, reducing the hosts to 98-4 at lunch on Day 4.

With both sides having posted 387 runs in their respective first innings, the match stood evenly poised at the start of the day. However, a disciplined and aggressive Indian pace attack, led by Siraj, tipped the scales in India’s favor as they aimed to take a 2-1 lead in the five-match series.

Siraj struck twice in a superb morning session, returning figures of 2 for 11 in seven overs, and dismantling England’s top order. The only resistance came from Joe Root, unbeaten on 17, and captain Ben Stokes, who was not out on 2, still searching for his first Test century in over two years.

England had resumed at 2-0, with Zak Crawley and Ben Duckett at the crease. Crawley survived an early scare when a Jasprit Bumrah delivery leapt off a length and hit his glove — the pacer narrowly missing a difficult return catch.

Duckett managed a boundary off Siraj but soon perished trying to pull a short ball, miscuing it to Bumrah at mid-on. Siraj celebrated the dismissal with aggressive body language, risking a disciplinary warning for yelling in Duckett’s face and brushing shoulders with him.

Siraj’s intensity didn’t drop as he trapped Ollie Pope lbw, with the decision overturned on review after initially being given not out by umpire Paul Reiffel. England slumped to 42-2, and soon 50-3 when Crawley, on 22, edged a loose drive off Nitish Kumar Reddy to Yashasvi Jaiswal in the gully — a trap clearly planned by the Indian field setting.

Crawley, who had frustrated Indian players the previous day with time-wasting, was met with verbal send-offs from the Indian fielders as he exited.

Harry Brook briefly counter-attacked, hitting Akash Deep for two scooped boundaries and a commanding six. But Deep had the final word, dismantling Brook’s middle stump with a searing delivery that ended his innings on 23.

India’s bowlers continued to expose England’s fragile batting lineup with pace and precision, keeping them under pressure in a session that heavily tilted the momentum in India’s favor.