Shoaib Bashir removed Rachin Ravindra for 93, and Cricbuzz’s Trent Bridge update left New Zealand at 180-4 at lunch on day four of the Third Test. Ravindra’s review came back with three big reds, ending an innings that had put England under pressure for long stretches.
Rachin Ravindra and Bashir
The dismissal came off a ball that pinned him bang in front. Ravindra went six short of a century after a long, controlled knock, and the breakthrough finally gave England a wicket at a stage when the innings had begun to stretch the lead further.
Shoaib Bashir then had the reaction of the moment: “Shoaib Bashir gets the breakthrough!” The next line from the update summed up the damage for New Zealand’s batting order: “He has to go six runs short of a century but it has still been a brilliant innings and potentially a match winning one for his side.”
Trent Bridge lunch break
By lunch, New Zealand were 180-4 and Mitchell was 46 not out with Blundell on 4 not out. The lead had moved to 263 after 58 overs and then to 273 by the 62nd over, which left England chasing the game while still needing wickets on a surface that had offered little help.
The session had started at 11am BST, with England bowling last in the third men’s cricket Test at Trent Bridge. Stokes was operating from the Radcliffe Road End, and Archer was set to start after lunch from the Stuart Broad End, giving England a fresh look after Ravindra’s dismissal.
Archer from Stuart Broad End
England’s immediate task was simple: keep taking wickets before New Zealand could turn 180-4 into something bigger. With Ravindra gone, the innings had lost its set batter, but Mitchell and Blundell were still in, and the lead already asked a blunt question of England’s lower-innings chase.
That left the afternoon passage weighted toward the bowling attack, not the scoreboard. Bashir had delivered the key wicket, Archer was due to take over after lunch, and England’s day four work was now about forcing a finish before New Zealand’s advantage became even harder to manage.
