Looping at Lord's: The moving day that didn't move the series

The 13th day of the series saw England and India locked at 387 each, the series level at 1-1. The day was marked by a flashpoint finish, with Shubman Gill and Zak Crawley pointing at each other, and Rishabh Pant's sore index finger finding its mirror in Shoaib Bashir's hurt pinky.

The series' halfway point was characterized by deadlocks, small jabs, and visual echoes. Tim Southee, usually the quiet Kiwi in the room, left a dry punchline hanging, about double standards, and his own jabbed finger at the Indian captain getting a massage in the middle of the second day's play.

KL Rahul empathized with Crawley as a fellow opening batter, asked to bat late with nothing to gain and everything to lose. The day ended with Rahul himself, walking out under pressure with India 242 behind, looking fidgety for the briefest moment.

The England bowling had nothing to do with it, as Rahul struggled to fasten his orange fitness tracker over his glove. The umpires and England's fielders were already drifting into position when Pant stepped in to help, his injured hand fumbling over wrist.

The game finally began after the first of the unscripted pauses, and Pant and Rahul dominated the morning session to bridge the gap. Rahul edged towards his second hundred of the series, the 10th of his career, but was caught by Ben Stokes for 99.

India lost Rahul for a round 100, and Nitish Reddy and Ravindra Jadeja didn't help by gambling with their running between the wickets. England couldn't find the stumps anymore, and only 68 runs came between Lunch and Tea.

Jofra Archer bowled a post-lunch spell full of thunderbolts, but it brought no breakthroughs. The only other dent England managed was on Nitish's helmet from a Stokes bouncer. Southee eventually stepped across and passed a quieter message: not everything could be solved by running himself to the ground.

The breakthrough came through a legside tickle, and when Jadeja fell for 72, India were just 11 behind England's score. The final four wickets fell for 11 runs, and the Lord's Test reset itself: scores level, everything back to zero.

The series remains caught in a loop it can't quite escape, with India making unforced errors and England letting the new ball advantage slip through their hands. The question remains: who can find the sting to finally break free?