Nothing can separate England and India as 3rd test turns feisty at Lord's

LONDON (AP) — Three days in and nothing can separate England and India in a tightly fought and increasingly feisty third test at Lord’s.

Replying to England’s 387 all out, India was dismissed for exactly the same total 15 minutes before the end of play at the home of cricket on Saturday.

It was only the ninth time in nearly 150 years of test cricket that the scores were level after the first innings.

England closed on 2-0 after just one over of the second innings — played to a backdrop of needle and spiciness, with the India team angry that openers Ben Duckett and Zak Crawley tried every stalling tactic possible to reduce the number of balls bowled. Things got heated, especially between Crawley and India captain Shubman Gill as they squared up to each other.

The test effectively boils down to a one-innings match. The series is also locked at 1-1.

“You toil away for three days and you sit here with a two-run lead," England bowling coach Tim Southee said. "Looking forward to a two-day shootout.”

Lokesh Rahul was India’s top scorer with exactly 100, before losing his wicket off his very next ball soon after lunch when he edged spinner Shoaib Bashir to Harry Brook at slip.

Ravindra Jadeja added a vital 72 to go with a typically entertaining knock of 76 by Rishabh Pant, who was run out brilliantly by England captain Ben Stokes off what proved to be the last ball of the morning session. Pant was looking for a quick single to give Rahul – on 98 at the time – the strike in the final over before lunch.

Nitish Kumar Reddy (30) and Washington Sundar (23) chipped in with decent lower-order contributions.

Duckett and Crawley ambled to the middle for a very brief start to England's second innings and, with shadows lengthening, began their stalling tactics that ultimately worked. The Indians managed just one over — from star bowler Jasprit Bumrah — when they could maybe have forced three.

India's players, especially Gill, were livid and much of their ire was directed at Crawley, who held up Bumrah by saying there was movement behind the bowler's arm and again when he took some time to recover from being hit on the glove.

The Indians surrounded Crawley, who barked back, and there was plenty of finger-pointing before the teams walked off the field, with the sledging continuing.

England players were seen laughing up on the balcony outside their dressing room.

“I understand, from an opening batter’s point of view, it’s something that happens a lot,” Rahul said of what he described as “theatrics” at the end of play.

It remains to be seen if India's players are still as fired up at the start of Day 4, with the late-day drama lighting up what had been an attritional test match until that point.

Bashir, England's frontline spinner, had to go off the field with an injury to the little finger on his left hand, sustained after lunch off his own bowling when he stopped a fierce shot down the ground from Jadeja.

The spinner didn't reappear for the rest of the innings and was facing further assessment after stumps.

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England's captain Ben Stokes, left, and England's Joe Root celebrate the dismissal of India's Jasprit Bumrah during the third cricket test match between England and India at Lord's cricket ground in London, Saturday, July 12, 2025. (AP Photo/Richard Pelham)

England's Shoaib Bashir falls down and injured when he tries to catch a ball during the third cricket test match between England and India at Lord's cricket ground in London, Saturday, July 12, 2025. (AP Photo/Richard Pelham)

England's Jofra Archer bowls a delivery during the third cricket test match between England and India at Lord's cricket ground in London, Saturday, July 12, 2025. (AP Photo/Richard Pelham)

India's Ravindra Jadeja, left, congratulates India's KL Rahul after scoring a century during the third cricket test match between England and India at Lord's cricket ground in London, Saturday, July 12, 2025. (AP Photo/Richard Pelham)

India's KL Rahul celebrates after scoring a century during the third cricket test match between England and India at Lord's cricket ground in London, Saturday, July 12, 2025. (AP Photo/Richard Pelham)

India's KL Rahul plays a shot during the third cricket test match between England and India at Lord's cricket ground in London, Saturday, July 12, 2025. (AP Photo/Richard Pelham)

India's Rishabh Pant plays a shot during the third cricket test match between England and India at Lord's cricket ground in London, Saturday, July 12, 2025. (AP Photo/Richard Pelham)

India's Rishabh Pant gets ice bag on his hand after a ball hits during the third cricket test match between England and India at Lord's cricket ground in London, Saturday, July 12, 2025. (AP Photo/Richard Pelham)

England's captain Ben Stokes fields during the third cricket test match between England and India at Lord's cricket ground in London, Friday, July 11, 2025. (AP Photo/Richard Pelham)

CAIRO (AP) — Hamas said Sunday it will dissolve its existing government in Gaza once a Palestinian technocratic leadership committee takes over the territory, as mandated under the U.S.-brokered peace plan. But the group gave no specifics on when the change will occur.

Hamas and the rival Palestinian Authority, the Palestinians’ internationally recognized representative, have not announced the names of the technocrats, who are not supposed to be politically affiliated, and it remains unclear if they will be cleared by Israel and the U.S.

The “Board of Peace,” an international body led by Trump, is supposed to oversee the government and other aspects of the ceasefire that took effect on Oct. 10, including disarming Hamas and deploying an international security force. The board's members have not been announced.

Meanwhile, the post-ceasefire death toll continued to rise in Gaza, with Israeli gunfire killing three Palestinians, according to Palestinian hospital officials.

The ceasefire began with a halt in fighting and the release of hostages held in Gaza in exchange for thousands of Palestinians held by Israel. The deal is still in its first phase as efforts continue to recover the remains of the final hostage left in Gaza.

An Egyptian official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss closed-door information, said Hamas was sending a delegation to talks with Egyptian, Qatari and Turkish officials about moving to the second phase.

In comments posted on his Telegram channel Sunday, Hazem Kassem, a Hamas spokesman, called for speeding up the establishment of the technocratic committee.

The Egyptian official said Hamas will meet with other Palestinian factions this week to finalize the committee's formation. The Hamas delegation will be chaired by top negotiator Khalil al-Hayya, the official said.

Trump has said the “Board of Peace " will monitor the committee and handle the disarmament of Hamas, the deployment of an international security force, additional pullbacks of Israeli troops and Gaza's reconstruction. The U.S. has reported little progress on any of these fronts, though the members of the board are expected to be announced this week.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Thursday that Bulgarian diplomat Nickolay Mladenov has been selected as the board’s director-general. Mladenov is a former Bulgarian defense and foreign minister who served as U.N. envoy to Iraq before being appointed as the U.N. Mideast peace envoy from 2015 to 2020. During that time, he had good working relations with Israel and frequently worked to ease Israel-Hamas tensions.

Also Sunday, Israel’s Foreign Minister Gideon Saar met in Jerusalem with Japanese Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi. Saar said Israel was committed to enforcing Trump’s plan, while Motegi expressed Japan’s willingness to play an active role in the ceasefire.

According to Japan's Foreign Ministry, Motegi visited the Civil-Military Coordination Center, where the ceasefire is being monitored. He was also set to meet Netanyahu and Palestinian officials in the Israeli-occupied West Bank.

In Gaza, two men were shot dead in the southern town of Bani Suhaila, according to Nasser Hospital, which received the bodies. Earlier Sunday, a man was killed by Israeli gunfire in the Tuffah neighborhood of Gaza City, according to Al-Ahly hospital, which received the body.

In response to questions about the Tuffah incident, Israel’s military said it had fired at and hit a “terrorist” in northern Gaza who had approached troops. In a later statement, the military said it had killed a “terrorist” in southern Gaza who approached troops.

Israel and Hamas have accused each other of violating the ceasefire. Continued Israeli strikes in Gaza have killed more than 400 Palestinians, according to local health officials.

The Israeli military says any actions since the ceasefire began have been in response to violations of the agreement.

Israeli police said Sunday they were questioning a top official from Netanyahu's office over possible obstruction of an investigation into last year's leak of classified military information to a German tabloid.

Israeli media identified the official as Tzachi Braverman, Netanyahu’s chief of staff, who is expected to start as the next ambassador to the United Kingdom in the coming months.

He’s the latest official to be caught up in the scandal, in which Netanyahu’s inner circle is accused of leaking confidential information to German tabloid Bild to improve public perception of the prime minister following the killing of six hostages in Gaza in August of 2025.

It comes after an explosive interview by Kan News with former Netanyahu spokesperson, Eli Feldstein, who described a clandestine meeting with Braverman in an underground parking lot in the middle of the night in connection with the leak. Feldstein, who has been indicted, said Braverman offered to “shut down” the probe into the leaked information.

Opposition leader Yair Lapid immediately called for the suspension of Braverman as ambassador. “It is unacceptable that a person suspected of involvement in obstructing a serious security investigation should be the face of Israel in one of Europe’s most important countries,” Lapid wrote on X.

In response, Saar defended Braverman’s appointment and said he would not be removed from it until formally charged or tried.

Frankel reported from Jerusalem. Associated Press writer Melanie Lidman in Tel Aviv, Israel, contributed to this report.

Find more of AP’s Israel-Hamas coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/israel-hamas-war

Israel's Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar, left, meets with Japan's Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi in Jerusalem, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Ohad Zwigenberg)

A tent camp for displaced Palestinians stretches across an area in Deir al-Balah, in the central Gaza Strip, Saturday, Jan. 10, 2026. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)