Britain’s King Charles III hosted and consoled the Indian cricket team at his Clarence House residence on Tuesday, following their narrow 22-run defeat against England in the third Test match at Lord’s cricket ground on Monday.The defeat came in dramatic fashion during the final session of the last day as India, chasing a target of 193 runs, fell short when their last batsman Mohammed Siraj was dismissed by Shoaib Bashir’s delivery that spun back onto the stumps.The King, who had watched the crucial final moments on television, expressed his sympathy to Indian captain Shubman Gill about the manner of Siraj’s dismissal.“Really annoying just to touch the bails,” the King remarked about Mohammed Siraj’s dismissal.Gill shared details of their conversation with the monarch, saying: “He did tell us that the way our last batsman got out was quite unfortunate – the ball rolling on the stumps, and he was just asking us how did we feel after that.”The Indian captain further added: “And we told him it was an unfortunate match for us, but it could have gone either way and hopefully we’ll have better luck in both the next games.”
The loss puts India behind 2-1 in the five-match series. The teams will next face each other at Old Trafford for the fourth Test, with the series concluding at The Oval in London.The King also met the women’s team-led by Harmanpreet Kaur. After sealing the first-ever T20I series win against England on their home soil, the Indian women’s team are all set to take on the hosts in the three-match ODI series, starting from Wednesday.
