New Delhi: India and England will lock horns in the third Test of the ongoing five-match Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy 2025 at the iconic Lord’s Cricket Ground in London, starting Thursday, July 10. The series is evenly poised at 1-1 after India hammered England by 336 runs in the second Test at Edgbaston last week. Shubman Gill-led visitors will be looking to go 2-1 up with a second straight win against England at Lord’s.
India produced a phenomenal all-round display at Edgbaston to earn a historic victory as they recorded their first win at the venue in whites. The visitors will look to continue their stellar run at Lord’s, where they were defeated in the last meeting between the two teams in 2021. India are set to have Jasprit Bumrah back for the all-important game after the pacer was rested from the 2nd Test.
Bumrah missed the Edgbaston encounter due to workload management as the senior pacer will play only three of the five Tests in the series. However, he is set to return at Lord’s in what will be a huge boost for the Indian pace attack that was spearheaded exceptionally well by Akash Deep at Edgbaston. Bumrah’s return will add more pace and bite to India’s attack.
However, it remains to be seen if Bumrah will replace pacer Prasidh Krishna in a direct swap in the XI, or if he will come in place of one of the two all-rounders – Washington Sundar or Nitish Reddy. There are high chances of Bumrah replacing Prasidh, who hasn’t been at his best in the series so far.
Will Karun Nair get dropped?
India have stuck with Karun Nair in the middle order in their first two matches. However, the senior batter has failed to live up to the expectations and managed low returns in a series which has been dominated by Indian batters. Nair scored 31 and 26 in India’s two innings at Edgbaston and might face the axe at Lord’s.
The Indian team management can bring back young Sai Sudharsan to replace him at no.3. The rest of the Indian batting line-up is likely to remain the same, with KL Rahul and Yashasvi Jaiswal at the top and in-form skipper Shubman Gill batting at no.4. Vice-captain Rishabh Pant will continue to bat at no.5, and Ravindra Jadeja will bat at no.6.
Nitish Reddy and Washington Sundar will add more depth to India’s batting line-up and will also contribute with the ball as the visitors aim to secure a lead in the series.
India’s predicted XI for the 3rd Test against England:
Shubman Gill (c), Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul, Sai Sudharsan, Rishabh Pant, Ravindra Jadeja, Nitish Reddy, Washington Sundar, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, Akash Deep