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.
“We want to be a team that is positive and entertaining, but we want to play to the situation,” Pope said.
“Our order is pretty fast scoring on our good days, we all know we can score hundreds off 120 balls, but we need to dig in off this sort of surface.”
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.
STUNNED SILENCE
A packed crowd at the home of cricket was stunned into near silence as India celebrated wildly and Reddy continued to extract movement off the pitch as England laboured to 83-2 at lunch.
Root reached his 67th test half century to go with 36 hundreds for England’s leading all-time runscorer, the milestone coming off 102 balls and including seven fours.
India suffered a blow when the free-scoring Pant was forced off the field with a finger injury but Pope was out for 44 to the first ball after tea, driving loosely at spinner Ravindra Jadeja and nicking the ball to stand-in keeper Dhruv Jurel.
When Bumrah speared in a rapid ball that clipped the top of Harry Brook’s off stump to send the in-form batter back to the pavilion for 11 with England on 172-4 India sensed they were back in the ascendancy.
But Root continued to bat smoothly and found a reliable partner in Stokes, the experienced pair defying the tiring Indian bowlers and keeping the scoreboard ticking over in the evening sunshine.
Root tried to complete his 37th test century before the close but was unable to do so, and he will return on Friday when England will bid to put pressure on India by posting a commanding first-innings total.
“Joe Root has inspired everyone in the changing room and in this country,” Pope said.
“His work ethic and the way he goes about his cricket is inspirational over such a long career. Fingers crossed he can make it a massive one tomorrow.”
(Reuters)