Reuters
[Source: Reuters]
Joe Root’s patient unbeaten 99 led England to 251-4 on an attritional and compelling first day of the third test against India at Lord’s on Thursday.
With the series level at 1-1 after two high-scoring matches, England won the toss in good batting conditions but they lost Ben Duckett and Zak Crawley cheaply and with pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah back in their attack India sensed a big chance.
Root and Ollie Pope, however, adopted a risk-free approach, a far cry from the aggressive Bazball style of cricket England have adopted in recent years, to rebuild the innings, and Ben Stokes made 39 not out to leave the match finely poised.
Earlier, Stokes won the toss under clear skies and would have expected his top order to take full advantage.
India won the second test by 336 runs to level the series without Bumrah and he bowled a probing opening spell as the touring side rode the momentum of their excellent performance at Edgbaston.
Crawley drove Akash Deep sweetly to the cover boundary before greeting Mohammed Siraj to the attack with another crisp hit through the off side but neither he nor Duckett looked comfortable on a slow pitch.
Immediately after the drinks interval, Nitish Kumar Reddy struck in his first over when Duckett fell for 23, playing a loose stroke to a ball down the leg side and feathering a catch to wicketkeeper Rishabh Pant.
Pope was dropped off his first ball, a very hard chance to Shubman Gill at gully, before Reddy squared up Crawley with a fine delivery and he edged it to Pant to depart for 18.
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