What a match, and what irony that it should be settled England’s way by a No.11 defending an off-break like an opening batter – soft hands and with the middle of the bat. But that’s great Test cricket, unsurpassable drama decided as often by the innocuous moment as the grand gesture.

ENG captain Ben Stokes bowled 44 overs across the match at Lord's, the third-most he has managed in a Test and his most since 2019, to go with scores of 44 and 33 with the bat

England has beaten India by 22 runs in the Lord’s test on the fifth and final day and taken a 2-1 lead in their five-test series.