India got the perfect start to Day 2 of the 3rd Test against England at Lord’s, thanks to Jasprit Bumrah. Making his return after missing the Edgbaston Test, Bumrah struck early on Friday, removing overnight batters Ben Stokes and Joe Root in quick succession to shift the momentum back in India’s favour. He bowled an in-dipper that knocked over Stokes’ off-stump and then dismissed Root, who chopped the ball onto his stumps, making it three wickets for Bumrah in the innings. On the very next delivery, he dismissed Chris Woakes for a golden duck, reducing England to seven wickets down.

Interestingly, the appeal against Woakes almost didn’t happen. After the ball went past Woakes' bat and into the gloves of stand-in wicketkeeper Dhruv Jurel – Rishabh Pant remained off the field – there was only a tentative appeal from KL Rahul, Shubman Gill, and Jurel. Bumrah, who is typically the most animated in caught-behind situations, appeared unconvinced and was ready to walk back to his mark. Gill, however, stopped him, asking, “Kuch laga kya?” to which Bumrah replied, “Pata nahi. Agar laga hai, toh bat hi hoga,” showing his uncertainty.

Despite Bumrah’s lack of confidence, Gill trusted his gut. With England already six wickets down and all three reviews unused, he opted to take a chance. The gamble paid off as Ultra-Edge revealed a faint nick, confirming Woakes was out and putting Bumrah on a hat-trick.

India could have tightened their grip further had KL Rahul not dropped a simple catch at second slip. Jamie Smith, who had proven to be a thorn in India’s side with previous scores of 40, 44, 184, and 88, edged Mohammed Siraj when he was on 5, but the dropped chance gave him another opportunity. England were thus able to keep pushing toward a total of 350 or more.