LONDON (AP) — England dismissed four India batters and gave the Lord's test another twist of fate on Sunday to leave it on a knife-edge heading toward the fifth and final day.
India set itself a winning target of 193 runs but was reduced to 58-4 in its second innings. Stumps, with eight overs remaining, came as a relief to India with England fired up and a sun-soaked Lord's crowd turned happily hostile.
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England's Brydon Carse celebrates the dismissal of India's Karun Nair during the fourth day of the third cricket test match between England and India at Lord's cricket ground in London, Sunday, July 13, 2025.(AP Photo/Richard Pelham)
England's captain Ben Stokes, right, celebrates with teammates after the dismissal of the dismissal of India's Akash Deep during the fourth day of the third cricket test match between England and India at Lord's cricket ground in London, Sunday, July 13, 2025.(AP Photo/Richard Pelham)
England's Brydon Carse, second right, celebrates with teammates after the dismissal of India's captain Shubman Gill, second left, during the fourth day of the third cricket test match between England and India at Lord's cricket ground in London, Sunday, July 13, 2025.(AP Photo/Richard Pelham)
England's captain Ben Stokes lies on ground after a delivery from India's Mohammed Siraj, right, hit him during the fourth day of the third cricket test match between England and India at Lord's cricket ground in London, Sunday, July 13, 2025.(AP Photo/Richard Pelham)
England's Jamie Smith bowled out by India's Washington Sundar during the fourth day of the third cricket test match between England and India at Lord's cricket ground in London, Sunday, July 13, 2025.(AP Photo/Richard Pelham)
England's Joe Root bowled out by India's Washington Sundar during the fourth day of the third cricket test match between England and India at Lord's cricket ground in London, Sunday, July 13, 2025.(AP Photo/Richard Pelham)
India's Washington Sundar celebrates the dismissal of England's Joe Root during the fourth day of the third cricket test match between England and India at Lord's cricket ground in London, Sunday, July 13, 2025.(AP Photo/Richard Pelham)
India's Nitish Kumar Reddy, center, bowls a delivery during the fourth day of the third cricket test match between England and India at Lord¥s cricket ground in London, Sunday, July 13, 2025.(AP Photo/Richard Pelham)
India's Mohammed Siraj, left, celebrates the dismissal of England's Ben Duckett, right, during the fourth day of the third cricket test match between England and India at Lord's cricket ground in London, Sunday, July 13, 2025.(AP Photo/Richard Pelham)
England's Harry Brook bold out by India's Akash Deep during the fourth day of the third cricket test match between England and India at Lord¥s cricket ground in London, Sunday, July 13, 2025.(AP Photo/Richard Pelham)
For one of the teams to take a 2-1 lead in the five-match series, England needs six more wickets and India needs 135 more runs on Monday.
Asked for a prediction, India's Washington Sundar smiled and told broadcaster Sky Sports, “Definitely India winning tomorrow. Just after lunch.” Then, serious, he added, "The position we are in right now, we would have taken. Maybe one down would be ideal.”
Opening batter Lokesh Rahul will resume on 33 not out but with the ball only 17.4 overs old and still juicy.
India began its chase after tea and appeared to weather the early storm after Yashasvi Jaiswal fell to Jofra Archer for a duck and fellow opener Rahul was dropped on 5 by Chris Woakes.
Rahul and Karun Nair piled more hurt on England and were chipping runs off the target until nearly an hour later when Nair left a straight delivery from seamer Brydon Carse and was plumb lbw.
India appeared to panic. In came captain Shubman Gill, the series' most prolific batter. But he was unusually anxious, played six false shots in the nine balls he faced, and was out lbw to Carse for 6.
That huge wicket sent England into orbit and Carse into overdrive.
India sent in fast bowler Akash Deep as a nightwatchman and for the last 15 minutes of the day he was targeted. Deep survived a video review on umpire's call and multiple lbw and catch appeals off Carse. But it was Stokes who smashed his off stump in what turned out to be the last ball of a remarkable day.
The inspired Carse had 2-11 and Stokes 1-15.
In all, 14 wickets fell on Day 4.
“When the ball gets a little bit softer there is more runs to be had out there but if you get it enough in the right place (the pitch is) very tricky,” England batting coach Marcus Trescothick told the BBC. "It'll come down to who holds the pressure best tomorrow."
England was fielding on Day 2 and Day 3 and gave its bowlers only 61 overs of rest on Sunday before it was bowling again on Day 4.
England was batting at 154-4 on Sunday afternoon and looking good to post a challenging target but suffered a collapse of 38-6 to be all out for 192.
For some reason, the pitch turned nasty overnight. It was offering plenty for the new-ball seamers and India's Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj made deliveries fly off a length and rear up almost dangerously. On this minefield, four England batters blew up in the morning.
Ben Duckett swatted straight to mid-on and Siraj followed through by screaming “Come on” twice in Duckett's face and they brushed shoulders. Siraj got Ollie Pope next, lbw for 4 after a review.
Zak Crawley’s brave but skittish innings finished on 22, edging a drive at Nitish Kumar Reddy.
Harry Brook relieved the tension by scooping Deep for two boundaries and smashing him into the members' pavilion. But Brook then tried sweeping the seamer and was bowled around his pads on 23.
Joe Root and Stokes took England to lunch on 98-4 and spent the afternoon edging their team toward a defendable target; 250 in the mind of most observers.
The pitch eased as the ball softened and Root and Stokes took England past 100 and 150.
Then off-spinner Sundar regained the momentum for India when he found drift and spin and bowled Root on 40 (sweeping), Jamie Smith on 8 (defending), Stokes on 33 (sweeping) and Shoaib Bashir on 0 (defending).
Sundar had 4-22 in 12.1 overs, the best figures by an India spinner in England in 23 years.
Bumrah took 2-38 and Siraj 2-31.
“They were all big wickets, especially (at) the stage of play,” Sundar said. “The U.K. has been kind, I don't get as much drift in subcontinent conditions.”
A dozen England batters in the match were bowled, the most by England in a test since 1887 in Sydney. It had never happened in England. Six of the bowleds in the match were by Bumrah. That was a first for India against England. The last bowler to bowl six Englishmen was Curtly Ambrose in 1994 at Port of Spain.
But India's terrific bowling effort showed England what kind of damage it can do, too, and set up the match for a thrilling finale at a sold-out Lords on Monday.
AP cricket: https://apnews.com/hub/cricket
England's Brydon Carse celebrates the dismissal of India's Karun Nair during the fourth day of the third cricket test match between England and India at Lord's cricket ground in London, Sunday, July 13, 2025.(AP Photo/Richard Pelham)
England's captain Ben Stokes, right, celebrates with teammates after the dismissal of the dismissal of India's Akash Deep during the fourth day of the third cricket test match between England and India at Lord's cricket ground in London, Sunday, July 13, 2025.(AP Photo/Richard Pelham)
England's Brydon Carse, second right, celebrates with teammates after the dismissal of India's captain Shubman Gill, second left, during the fourth day of the third cricket test match between England and India at Lord's cricket ground in London, Sunday, July 13, 2025.(AP Photo/Richard Pelham)
England's captain Ben Stokes lies on ground after a delivery from India's Mohammed Siraj, right, hit him during the fourth day of the third cricket test match between England and India at Lord's cricket ground in London, Sunday, July 13, 2025.(AP Photo/Richard Pelham)
England's Jamie Smith bowled out by India's Washington Sundar during the fourth day of the third cricket test match between England and India at Lord's cricket ground in London, Sunday, July 13, 2025.(AP Photo/Richard Pelham)
England's Joe Root bowled out by India's Washington Sundar during the fourth day of the third cricket test match between England and India at Lord's cricket ground in London, Sunday, July 13, 2025.(AP Photo/Richard Pelham)
India's Washington Sundar celebrates the dismissal of England's Joe Root during the fourth day of the third cricket test match between England and India at Lord's cricket ground in London, Sunday, July 13, 2025.(AP Photo/Richard Pelham)
India's Nitish Kumar Reddy, center, bowls a delivery during the fourth day of the third cricket test match between England and India at Lord¥s cricket ground in London, Sunday, July 13, 2025.(AP Photo/Richard Pelham)
India's Mohammed Siraj, left, celebrates the dismissal of England's Ben Duckett, right, during the fourth day of the third cricket test match between England and India at Lord's cricket ground in London, Sunday, July 13, 2025.(AP Photo/Richard Pelham)
England's Harry Brook bold out by India's Akash Deep during the fourth day of the third cricket test match between England and India at Lord¥s cricket ground in London, Sunday, July 13, 2025.(AP Photo/Richard Pelham)
