Three things we learned from the third England-India Test

LONDON (AFP) – England beat India by 22 runs in the third Test at Lord's on Monday in the latest last-day thriller between the teams.

Victory left England 2-1 up in a five-match series that is fast becoming a modern-day classic.

Below AFP Sport looks at three key aspects from a gripping encounter in London:

ARCHER SHOWS ENGLAND WHAT THEY HAVE BEEN MISSING

Many observers wondered if Jofra Archer would still be the same bowler who made such a thrilling start to his international career as the express quick prepared to end more than four years of injury-induced exile from Test cricket at Lord's.

But a match haul of 5-107 was a reminder of his quality. More than his wickets, the fact the now 30-year-old fast bowler repeatedly topped speeds of 90 mph while maintaining his accuracy was a hugely encouraging sight for England, who would dearly love Archer to be the spearhead of their attack when they look to regain the Ashes in Australia later this year.

Given his injury history, how Archer recovers from his efforts at Lord's will be key to his progress and it remains to be seen if he will be fit enough to feature in next week's fourth Test at Old Trafford.

But there was no denying the impact he made at Lord's on the sixth anniversary of Archer bowling the Super Over that secured England's 2019 50-over World Cup final win over New Zealand.

"Every time he gets announced on the tannoy that he's going to bowl, you just hear the ground erupt and when he turns it on, the feeling in the game just changes," said England captain Ben Stokes.

"What an amazing effort from him to get through those overs. He got some crucial wickets for us and it's great to have him back."

MILESTONE MADNESS CONTRIBUTES TO INDIA'S UNDOING

KL Rahul and Rishabh Pant were threatening to give India a substantial first-innings lead while compiling a superb partnership of 141.

But with Rahul 98 not out approaching lunch on the third day, Pant ran himself out in what appeared to be an attempt to get his partner back on strike so he could reach his century before the interval.

It was a brilliant piece of work by Stokes to remove Pant with a direct hit that ended the batsman's typically sparkling 74, but it was hard to imagine he would have risked a single had Rahul been further away from a hundred.

As it was, experienced opener Rahul duly completed his second century in a Test at Lord's to secure another coveted place on the dressing room honours board.

But India ended up only matching, not surpassing, England's first-innings 387 following a needlessly self-inflicted wound.