London, July 11 (UNI) Jasprit Bumrah's maiden five-wicket haul at Lord's and a composed half-century from KL Rahul headlined a gripping second day of the third Test as India reached 145 for 3 at stumps in reply to England’s 387.
Rishabh Pant added flair late in the day with a string of boundaries as India closed 242 runs behind.
The day began with England resuming at 251/4. Brydon Carse frustrated the Indian bowlers with a gritty 56, capitalising on two dropped chances. He reached his maiden Test fifty with a towering six off Mohammed Siraj before the Indian pacers wrapped things up.

Bumrah cleaned up Jofra Archer with a trademark inswinger to complete a memorable five-for (5/74), earning a spot on the Lord’s Honours Board. Siraj (3/83) dismissed Carse with a sharp yorker to end the innings.
India’s reply got off to a cautious start. Yashasvi Jaiswal was dismissed early for 13, caught in the slips. KL Rahul and Karun Nair then stitched together a gritty 50-run partnership. Nair looked fluent, driving Carse and Chris Woakes with elegance and authority. He struck boundaries through cover and point, including a stylish four in the 15th over off Carse.
However, Nair's promising knock of 40 came to an end when Ben Stokes induced a thick edge, brilliantly taken low by Joe Root diving to his left. The catch, Root’s 211th in Tests, saw him surpass Rahul Dravid’s record for most Test catches by an Indian.
Rahul, meanwhile, played a mature innings, navigating the early movement and accelerating post tea. He brought up his 50 off 97 balls with a single off Shoaib Bashir in the 39th over. His knock included classy boundaries—an elegant extra-cover drive off Ben Stokes, a ramp over slips off Woakes, and flicks through mid-wicket and fine leg. He remained unbeaten on 53 at close.
Shubman Gill struggled for fluency and eventually edged Woakes to debutant keeper Jamie Smith for 16. The tactic of keeping the wicketkeeper up to the stumps paid off as Gill, cramped for space, was forced into the mistake.
Pant, walking in at No. 5, wasted no time. He danced into his innings with trademark aggression, slamming Bashir for three boundaries in quick succession: a sweep, a back-foot cut, and a forceful slog over mid-wicket. He ended the day on 19* off 33 balls.
India survived a couple of reviews during the innings—Nair successfully overturned a leg-side caught-behind decision and Rahul was correctly given not out on an LBW call after England’s appeal was struck down.
With Rahul anchoring and Pant looking dangerous, India will look to consolidate on Day 3 and reduce the deficit further on what is still a responsive Lord’s pitch.
Brief score:
At stumps, Day 2: England 387 all out (Joe Root 104, Brydon Carse 56; Jasprit Bumrah 5/74, Mohammed Siraj 2/85); India 145/3 in 43.0 overs (KL Rahul 53*, Rishabh Pant 19*, Karun Nair 40)
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