Root leads the way with unbeaten 99 as Ben Stokes & Co ditch Bazball for traditional Test-match template on Day One at Lord’s; looking to post big runs and put India under scoreboard pressure, hosts reach 251-4 at stumps
England’s Joe Root en route his unbeaten 99 against India at Lord’s, London, yesterday. Pic/Getty Images
Until Thursday, Ben Stokes had opted to bat first on winning the toss only twice on English soil. On both those occasions, the home side courted defeat.
At Lord’s, the England skipper chose to buck the trend of this series, choosing not to field first. That wasn’t the only change from the norm. England swapped their gung-ho approach for a more traditional Test-match template on Day One of the third Test, looking to put big runs on the board and put India under scoreboard pressure.
On a slow surface that didn’t encourage unfettered stroke-making, England ground it out against a disciplined Indian attack which gave very little away. The bowlers were aided to some extent by the much-maligned Duke’s ball swinging for longer than usual despite a harsh sun beating down for most of the day as they ensured that even if wickets didn’t come in a hurry, the game didn’t get away from them.
As expected, Jasprit Bumrah replaced Prasidh Krishna from the XI that triumphed in Birmingham, but even though he beat Ben Duckett on both edges, he wasn’t firing on all cylinders. There was greater life from the Nursery End from where Akash Deep, the ten-wicket hero from the previous match, operated. Duckett and Zak Crawley made slow but measured progress in the first hour until Nitish Kumar Reddy was introduced after the drinks break and struck paydirt immediately.
Nitish was used sparingly in Birmingham, but Shubman Gill brought him on in the 14th over and the Andhra medium-pacer delivered immediately, though there was some fortune involved in the dismissal of Duckett, caught behind by Rishabh Pant off the glove down leg while attempting a pull. Ollie Pope was dropped first ball at a wide gully by Gill diving full length to his right — the Indian captain is human, after all — but that didn’t deter Nitish, who had Crawley caught behind with a beauty off the next ball which leapt off a length and seamed away just enough.
In the middle of a wonderful spell of controlled swing bowling as he hit the perfect length, Nitish kept Pope and Joe Root honest, while the rest of the attack was more than passable. But with no demons in the pitch, England made sedate progress through the two right-handers, who added 109 for the third wicket to steady the slightly rocking boat.
Gill bowled his pacers for long periods, only turning to Ravindra Jadeja’s left-arm spin with the ball 47 overs old. Jadeja struck with his seventh ball, the first after tea, when Pope’s scratchy stay ended with a superb catch behind the stumps by Dhruv Jurel, standing in for Pant who left the field with a non-serious injury to his left index finger. Having gone wicketless for 94 balls, Bumrah then brought one back down the slope for Harry Brook to be bowled through the gate.
England were in a spot at 172 for four, but Root (99 not out) and Stokes (39 not out) came together to thwart India with plenty of control and little slices of luck. At stumps, England were 251-4.
Brief scores
England 251-4 (J Root 99*, O Pope 44, B Stokes 39*; N Reddy 2-46) vs India
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