09/07/2025
ANDERSON-TENDULKAR TROPHY
ALL EYES ON INDIA AT THE LORD’s - HOME OF CRICKET
After staging a remarkable comeback in the second test in the ongoing five-match test series ‘Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy’ at Edgbaston by beating hosts England by a massive 336-run to level the series 1-1, India will be eyeing to leverage recent form at the Lord’s Cricket Ground after having won their last three test matches.
Historically, India has never had a good outing at Lord’s. Since 1932, when India played its first test match at the Lord's, it has won only three matches, losing 12, with four matches ending in a draw. The first win came in 1986, when India won by five wickets under Kapil Dev’s leadership; in 2014, they won by 95 runs under the captaincy of M.S. Dhoni and in 2021 by 151 runs under Virat Kohli's captaincy.
However, with Bumrah set to return after being rested in the second test, the team will look for its fourth win at the Lord's as the bowling department will have a boost with Mohammed Siraj and Akash Deep already in great form. The duo together picked up 17 wickets to help India outsmart the hosts in the second test.
Traditionally, the wicket at the Lord’s offers a lot of seam and bounce. Captain Shubman Gill could opt for four frontline seamers – Bumrah, Siraj, Akash and Prasidh Krishna, with Ravindra Jadeja and Washington Sunder taking care of the spin department. Well, Kuldeep Yadav might be added in place of Sunder. However, it might turn out to be not a good decision as Lord's does not offer great help for spinners. The only change that the Indian team is expected to make will be to replace Bumrah in place of Nitish Kumar Reddy.
All eyes will also be on Karun Nair, who has failed to impress in the previous two tests. This will be a crucial test for Nair, as Sai Sudharshan, Yashaswi Jaiswal, and Abhimanyu Easwaran have been warming the bench.
Meanwhile, England, after facing an embarrassing defeat in the second Test, will want to make a strong comeback with Jofra Archer likely to return for the Lord’s Test. England has also added pacer Gus Atkinson to strengthen its fast bowling department. With both Atkinson and Archer likely to be added to the squad, Carse and Tongue might be rested for the third test.
For England to stage a comeback, it will depend greatly on their top order batters Ben Duckett, Zack Crawley, Ollie Pope and Joe Root to provide a great start. While Duckett and Ollie Pope scored centuries each in the first test at Leeds, they failed to impress at Edgbaston. The other two top-order batters – Zack Crawley and Joe Root – have not been able to dominate, which is a bit of a worry for England.
Overall, the fans can expect one humdinger of a contest between the hosts and the visitors at the ‘Home of Cricket’ starting tomorrow.
