Jofra Archer marked a thunderous return to the Test arena with some scorching spells that gave England a timely lift in the third match against India at the Lord’s.

The Englishman, playing his first red-ball match for England in over four years, finished with figures of 2/52 in the first innings.

He dismissed his Rajasthan Royals team-mate Yashasvi Jaiswal off the third ball of his very first over to give England an early breakthrough.

Archer also accounted for Washington Sundar to close out India’s innings and ensured the visitors couldn’t master a first-innings lead.

However, Archer’s contributions in the innings extended far beyond the two wickets. He gave away just 52 runs in the 23.2 overs he bowled, boasting of a miserly economy rate of 2.22 - the best among all the England bowlers.

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The 30-year-old kept the Indian batters under pressure even when he was not picking up wickets, and his searing pace was a crucial factor behind that.

Archer bowled a fiery four-over burst after lunch on Day 3.

He regularly clocked speeds above 145 kmph and kept Ravindra Jadeja and debutant Nitish Kumar Reddy on their toes with short-pitched bowling and sustained pace.

Archer averaged 145.3 kmph in the spell - his second-fastest in nine home Tests - and hit his highest-ever average speed in an over in Test cricket during the 71st over, where he averaged 148.18 kmph.

The speedgun during the over read: 150, 150, 149, 146, 148 and 148kmph.

The fastest ball of the series, meanwhile, came at the end of the 69th over - a 150 kmph bouncer that struck Reddy on the helmet and prompted a concussion check. That delivery is the quickest of the ENG vs IND 2025 Test series so far.

Archer’s 73rd over (average speed of 147.94 kmph) and the 69th (average speed of 145.77 kmph) also rank as the second and third-fastest overs of the series. His pace in the post-lunch spell surpassed even his effort with the new ball on Day 2, where he averaged 144.49 kmph.

The Lord’s Test marked Archer’s first appearance in the format since February 2021. A long injury layoff kept him out of red-ball cricket for over 1500 days.

Initially in the frame for the first two Tests, Archer was ruled out of the opener with a thumb injury and left out of the second despite being in the squad. His inclusion for the Lord’s Test was the only change to the England XI that lost at Edgbaston.

The right-arm quick also produced some of the quickest deliveries of IPL 2025 while playing for RR. He also finishes as the Jaipur team’s joint highest wicket-taker in the season with 11 scalps.

Fit, fast and back in rhythm, Archer’s emphatic return is an encouraging sign for England ahead of the final two Tests.