By Simon Wilkes
Jubilant but exhausted England captain Ben Stokes admitted he “had a feeling” Jofra Archer “would do something special” at Lord’s, where the hosts beat India in a thrilling third Test.
England took a 2-1 lead in the five-match series after a nerve-jangling final day in London saw them emerge victorious after securing a 22-run victory in dramatic fashion.
The win was confirmed when a delivery from Shoaib Bashir spun onto Mohammed Siraj’s leg stump and gently dislodged a bail.
But the hard work had arguably been done earlier in the day, when Archer was handed the ball by Stokes with India resuming on 58 for four, chasing a winning total of 193.
Hosts off to flying start
The hosts made a flying start to the day, taking three wickets in the opening half an hour of play.
Archer bowled the dangerous Rishabh Pant (9) before pulling off a brilliant caught-and-bowled effort to send Washington Sundar (0) back to the pavilion.
Stokes then trapped opener KL Rahul (39) leg-before to put England in control.
However, a battling 61 not out from Ravindra Jadeja kept the tourists in the hunt until Siraj fell to spark wild celebrations in the England team, with Zak Crawley taking a moment to console Siraj.
Stokes and Archer took three wickets apiece in India’s second innings of 170 all out, and the win was made all the more special considering the duo played a starring role six years to the day since England won the Cricket World Cup at Lord’s on July 14 in 2019.
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One of those feelings
The England captain, who was named Player of the Match, referenced those World Cup heroics in a post-match interview on Sky Sports, saying: “Jof played a big role in that and I just had one of those feelings he would do something special. He cracked the game open with his wickets.
“I had this gut-feeling something was going to happen. Sometimes your gut works, I guess.
“It is awesome to have him back. Every time it gets announced on the tannoy that he is coming on to bowl, the ground erupts.
“When he turns it on, starts running in, and the speeds come up, the feeling in the game just changes. It was an amazing effort from him.
“I’m sure it was a tough week for him but, sheesh, he got some crucial wickets for us. It’s great to have him back.”
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India skipper full of pride
India captain Shubman Gill revealed his pride in his team for taking part in such a feisty, closely-fought Test match where both teams scored 387 in their first innings.
He told Sky Sports: “I am so proud. This is as close as a Test match can get. It comes down to the last session, the last wicket, so I am tremendously proud.
“I was confident this morning, but we weren’t able to have partnerships and England played better than us.
“I think the last hour last night [Sunday], we could have applied ourselves better.
“The series scorecard doesn’t really reflect things. We have played some good cricket and it is going to be exciting from now on.”
The fourth Test takes place at Emirates Old Trafford from July 27 to 31.
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SportJustSport writers