"70-30 in England's favor" - Former India batter's huge statement ahead of Day 5 of ENG vs IND 2025 3rd Test

Former India batter Sanjay Manjrekar reckons that England are favorites to win the Lord's Test following their brilliant fightback in the last session of play on Day 4. He opined that England's chances of winning are as high as 70 percent because they will have a relatively new ball in hand at the start of Day 5.

A total of 14 wickets fell on an action-packed Day 4 of the third Test between India and England at Lord's on Sunday, July 13. Resuming their second innings at 2-0, England were bowled out for 192 in 62.1 overs as Washington Sundar starred with 4-22. Chasing 193, Team India got off to a poor start and were in big trouble at 58-4 by stumps on Day 4.

During a discussion on ESPNcricinfo, Manjrekar stated that England have a great chance of winning the Lord's Test because of the way the new ball behaves in the first session of play. He elaborated:

"Yesterday, I firmly believed that there was no way India could lose this match. The only loser possible was England and a drawn scenario. But I believe now England are favorites. I would say 70-30 in England's favor, only because this ball is still hard and new. We saw what happened in that morning session when India bowled on that pitch. This pitch reacts to the new ball."

The 60-year-old added that India are not totally out of the game. He, however, feels that KL Rahul and Rishabh Pant will have to bat exceptionally well for the visitors to chase down the total. Manjrekar commented:

"If England are forced to go to Shoaib Bashir, it means India is winning the game. That will happen only if Pant and KL Rahul bat out of their skins. I only worry with one aspect. Because this young batting line-up has done so much of batting, the mental reserves of their batting has been tapped into so heavily, this effort is going to be a mental effort.

"The target is small, so there will be a huge temptation to take the additional risk. I just want India to grind away and get to the target," the former batter concluded.

At stumps on Day 4 at Lord's, Rahul was batting on 33. Akash Deep, who was sent in as nightwatchman, was knocked over by Ben Stokes for one in the last over.

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England stun India with big strikes on Day 4 at Lord's

Having knocked over the hosts for 192, Team India would have been absolutely pleased with their bowling performance. However, their joy was short-lived as England hit back with the ball in brilliant fashion.

Yashasvi Jaiswal (0) was undone by a back of length delivery from Jofra Archer. Karun Nair (14) did his chances of extending his Test career no good by shouldering arms to a delivery from Brydon Carse that came back in. India suffered a massive blow before stumps when Carse also trapped opposition skipper Shubman Gill leg before for six.