'I'm not sure I've got any nails left': Trott on thrilling final day contest at Lord's

New Delhi, July 15 (IANS) Former England batter Jonathan Trott joked that the nail-biting finish to the third Test between India and England at Lord's left him with no nails.

On the final day, India required 135 runs with six wickets in hand after reeling for 58/4 at stumps on Sunday.

Defending a target of 193, Jofra Archer (3-55) and Ben Stokes (3-48) grabbed three apiece, with able support from Brydon Carse (2-30) and Chris Woakes (1-21) pulled off the job for the home side. England won the match by 22 runs to take a 2-1 lead in the five-Test series.

“Once again, a match decided by the finest of margins - 22 runs today. We saw Siraj being consoled. That’s exactly what we want to see. We’ve seen hard-fought cricket over five days, and then handshakes all around. One team had to win, and this time it was England,” Trott said on JioHotstar.

“It was so tense - nail-biting stuff. I’m not sure I’ve got any nails left! It’s obviously a sad way for the game to end, but someone had to win. I think this is great for Test cricket - a bit of spice, a bit of edginess on the field. As long as the teams get along off the field and there’s no carry-over to the fourth Test, we’re good. It’s been played really hard out there. I can’t wait to see who comes out on top," he added.

Archer began the charge on the final day, setting the tone early on Day 5 by cleaning up Rishabh Pant in just the third over after play resumed.

KL Rahul, who looked solid with a fluent 39 off 58 balls at the top, was next to go - beaten by a sharp nip-backer from Ben Stokes.

Archer returned with a moment of brilliance, pulling off a stunning caught-and-bowled to remove Washington Sundar and claim his third wicket, reducing India to 82 for 7.

A glimmer of resistance came through Ravindra Jadeja and Nitish Kumar Reddy, who began to stitch together a promising stand. But just before lunch, Chris Woakes broke the partnership, nudging England closer to the finish line.

After the break, Jasprit Bumrah offered some support to Jadeja, but the fightback ended when the pacer miscued a pull shot off Stokes and found substitute fielder Sam Cook.

Jadeja, ranked No.1 among Test all-rounders, continued to show grit, notching his fourth consecutive half-century of the series. However, it wasn’t enough to stop England’s charge.

The match wrapped up when Shoaib Bashir floated one in that glanced off Mohammed Siraj’s bat, trickled onto the stumps, and bowled India out for 170 - sealing a memorable win and a series lead for England.

Lauding Jadeja's resilient unbeaten half-century effort, Trott said the all-rounder played exceptionally in challenging conditions and under pressure.

“Hindsight is a beautiful thing. I think Jadeja played incredibly well. I don’t see the point in overanalysing him. He manoeuvred himself and the team excellently. He’s battled, left well, and had a bit of luck. The ball was spinning away, and yes, there was temptation to attack Bashir. But had he slogged and gotten out, we’d be saying he threw it away. I thought he played exceptionally. The other batters will probably reflect and ask themselves - why couldn’t I have done what Jadeja did to give us a chance?”

--IANS

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