 "5 major reasons behind Team India’s defeat in Lord’s Test vs England")
Team India are set to play catch-up with England once again in the ongoing Test series in England, having conceded the series lead once again to the Ben Stokes-led hosts with a 22-run defeat at Lord's on Monday. India had leveled the five-match series in style with a 336-run thrashing of England at Edgbaston after losing the series opener by five wickets.
England, however, bounced back from the hiding that they received in the second Test in some style, prevailing over Gill and his men despite getting bundled out for less than 200 on the penultimate day after both teams finished level on scores earlier in the match.
With the third of five Tests witnessing a thrilling final day at the 'Home of Cricket' , ending on a rather heart-breaking note from the perspective of the Gill-led team and their supporters, we take a look at five key reasons behind India’s defeat at Lord’s.
Batting collapses return to haunt India
It was India’s solid performance with the bat that had headlined their lopsided victory in the second Test at Edgbaston. A little over a week after the triumph, the visitors found themselves falling short in a chase of target under 200. Collapses in both innings was a key reason behind India’s loss in Leeds, and the problem returned to haunt captain Gill, head coach Gautam Gambhir and the rest of the visiting team in London.
India were staring at the prospect of a handy first innings lead, or going past the 400-mark at the very least, at 376/6 after bowling England out for 387 – only to lose their next four wickets for just 11 runs to finish level on scores with the hosts.
Two days later, KL Rahul and Karun Nair had steadied the ship with a 36-run partnership for the second wicket that was filled with some delightful strokes, only for India to end the day at 58/4 after losing three wickets for 17 runs. The procession continued on the following day, with India losing three more wickets for just 24 runs. Which adds up to six wickets list for just 41 runs across two days.
Pant’s run-out turns out to be a game-changing moment
It wasn’t just batting collapses that defined India’s defeat at Lord’s; Rahul and wicketkeeper-batter Rishabh Pant had batted superbly in the morning session of the third day after resuming from their overnight score of 145/3. And the two seniors looked set to bat till lunch and resume their charge against the England attack on the other side of the interval.
RUN OUT! 🙌
— England Cricket (@englandcricket) July 12, 2025
Ben Stokes aims and fires at the stumps and Rishabh Pant is out! ❌ pic.twitter.com/Z9JWwV9aS4
Impact Shorts
More ShortsPant decided to collect a quick single off Shoaib Bashir in the final over before lunch, but stuttered after taking a couple of steps forward. Unfortunately for him, it was England captain Stokes who collected the ball near cover and not only judged which end to target, but hit bull’s eye.
One wicket would lead to another as Rahul would depart right after lunch, but not before completing his century – his second at Lord’s. India, however, found themselves on the backfoot once again at 254/5, and it was left to the trio of Ravindra Jadeja, Nitish Kumar Reddy and Washington Sundar to try and steer India towards the English total. Who knows how far India would have gone in their first innings had Pant not been run-out.
Questionable shot selection
India’s shot selection also came under the scanner, especially during their run chase on Sunday evening and on Monday. Yashasvi Jaiswal should have known better than to go for a wild heave off a short delivery from Jofra Archer early in innings, that too when he was yet to open his account with just five runs on the board against his team’s name. The ball went sky high, only to land safely in keeper Jamie Smith’s gloves as England got rid of the southpaw early in the innings.
And though he might not come under as much scrunity as opener Jaiswal given batting is not his primary job, Bumrah will be regretting his decision to go for a similar shot during his eighth-wicket partnership with Jadeja at a stage where India were beginning to fight back from a hopeless situation.
Bumrah had faced more than 50 deliveries for his five runs, but succumbed to his instinct while attempting to pull a short ball outside off from Stokes. As he made his slow walk back to the pavilion, Bumrah was seen hitting himself on the helmet in regret.
Inability to clean up the tail once again
It isn’t just batting collapses that’s common between India’s defeats at Headingley and at Lord’s. The team’s age-old problem of failing to bowl out the lower order without causing much damage returned to haunt them at the ‘Home of Cricket’, and would go on to impact the final result of the game.
With Bumrah back in the attack after being rested at Edgbaston and Mohammed Siraj and Akash Deep breathing fire after starring in the victory in the second Test, one would have expected India to dish out an even more clinical performance at Lord’s. Though they did struggle for wickets initially, the Bumrah-led attack managed to reduce the hosts to 271/7 despite Joe Root’s 104 – his 37th Test hundred.
The in-form Smith and tail-ender Brydon Carse, however, struck half-centuries and added 84 for the eighth wicket to take the hosts past 350, with the latter hanging around long enough to nearly guide England past 400. Had they suffered a collapse the way India did in their first innings, England might have been bundled out in the range of 300. Bumrah finished with 5/74, his second five-for in as many games, but the inability to polish off the tail took some sheen off it.
Conceding a barrage of extras on Day 4
The Indian bowling unit was a lot more clinical on the fourth day, bundling England out for 192 with off-spinner Sundar proving his worth with figures of 4/22 and Siraj (2/31) and Bumrah (2/38) collecting a couple of wickets each.
However, it’s worth noting that 32 of the runs that England had managed on the second day had come in the form of extras, including 25 byes. And that’s where the spotlight falls on reserve keeper Dhruv Jurel, who filled in for an injured Pant ever since the latter copped a painful blow on his left index finger on Day 1.
Jurel, in his defence, could state that the exaggerated late movement produced by Bumrah and Siraj, especially when bowled down the leg stump, made it difficult for him to stop the ball, requiring precision in timing his jump. Then again, he’s not as used to keeping in these conditions as Pant, and will learn with the passage of time, provided he keeps getting opportunities.
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