Washington and Carse light up Lord's as gripping finish looms

Washington Sundar's prize wicket-taking set India up for a 135-run pursuit on the final day of the third Test at Lord's , but in a twist to an enthralling fourth day in which 14 wickets fell, they only have six wickets in hand.

Brydon Carse removed Karun Nair and Shubman Gill cheaply for impressive figures of 2 for 11 from four overs and Ben Stokes bowled nightwatcher Akash Deep with the last ball of the day as three wickets fell in the last half-hour of play.

Washington's 4 for 22 included the key names of Joe Root, Jamie Smith and Stokes before he claimed the last England wicket to fall, Shoaib Bashir, as the hosts took a lead of 192. After scores were level on first innings, that meant India needed to chase down 193 for a 2-1 lead in the series.

Jofra Archer broke through in the second over of India's pursuit when Yashasvi Jaiswal attempted to pull a shorter, wider ball and sent a top edge into the air above wicketkeeper Smith.

But it wasn't until 30 minutes before stumps that England were able to make inroads again, Nair flummoxed by Carse's nip-backer and offering no shot as the ball struck the inside of his back knee. Gill, on 6, failed to overturn his lbw dismissal after he was hit on the knee roll by one in line with middle stump.

When Akash Deep entered still needing to don his arm guard and gloves, Root revved up the crowd to protest at any time wasting, which had been Gill's bugbear in a heated exchange with Zak Crawley at the end of day three.

The issue went from prickly to farcical to downright funny when Carse rapped Akash Deep's pads. He survived England's review on umpire's call with impact on the top of leg stump and India sent the physio out to apply some strapping to the batter's leg, chewing up more time.

England managed to squeeze in another over though, and Stokes struck with the fourth ball, flattening Akash Deep's off stump.

India's bowlers started the day with great intent. Jasprit Bumrah caused Crawley all sorts of discomfort without being rewarded and Mohammed Siraj produced a miserly seven-over opening spell yielding two wickets.

Ben Duckett was the first to go pulling to Bumrah at mid-on amid an impassioned send-off from Siraj that ensured the tensions of the previous evening remained high.

Siraj then pinned Ollie Pope lbw, although it took an India review to confirm his dismissal for just 4 off 17 balls. Pope's average in the second innings languishes at a mere 19.64 now.

Nitish Kumar Reddy relieved Bumrah midway through the morning session and removed Crawley for the second time in the match, this time a loose drive outside off stump gathered by Jaiswal at gully.

Harry Brook mounted a counterattack, ramping Akash Deep for back-to-back fours before launching him down the ground for six but it was short-lived. He fell for a 19-ball 23 when, attempting to sweep a full, straight one, Akash Deep flattened his middle stump in the perfect riposte.

Enter Washington as India turned to spin after lunch and he rattled Root's middle stump with one that slid under the attempted sweep and broke his fifth-wicket stand with Stokes at 67. Root's 40 ended up as England's highest of the innings and his dismissal ended a run of four scores of fifty or above at Lord's (including three centuries on the trot).

Four overs later, Washington bowled Smith for just 8 with an excellent quicker ball that didn't turn in the slightest but skidded past the outside edge and onto off stump.

At that point England were 164 for 6 and they were subsequently becalmed as Stokes and Chris Woakes looked to avoid further damage.

Stokes added just six more runs after tea before Washington struck again, beating the slog sweep and clattering middle stump to send him on his way for 33.

Bumrah was finally rewarded with the wickets of Carse and Woakes, the former to a stunning, pinpoint-accurate yorker on leg stump and the latter to one that expertly clipped the leg-side bails.

Bashir's was the 12th bowled dismissal by India for the match when Washington beat his defences to close out the innings, completing an England collapse in which they lost their last four wickets for 11 runs, and their last six for 38. Washington's 4 for 22 is the best figures by an Indian spinner at Lord's since 1974.