England show unusual patience to reach 251/4 on day 1

Joe Root’s dogged unbeaten 99 helped England to 251/4 on Day 1 at Lord's. Ben Stokes supported with 39* as India’s bowlers struggled to contain England’s classical batting approach

London: Joe Root stitched together a dogged unbeaten 99 as England shed their usual aggressive ways, resorting to classical long-format batting amid sustained pressure from the Indian bowlers to reach 251 for four on day one of the Lord’s Test here on Thursday.

At stumps, Root was one run shy of his 37th Test century, having faced 191 balls. He was batting alongside Ben Stokes (39 not out off 102 balls), with the pair having added 79 runs for the unfinished fifth wicket.

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Opting to bat in a home game for only the second time in the Bazball era, England chose to be patient on a slow surface rather than being on the offensive, which is their usual approach under captain Stokes.

The surface appeared greenish on the eve of the game but looked flat before the toss, as a sea of fans flocked to the iconic venue. With the series locked at 1-1, the pitch had been a major talking point heading into the third Test.

India, with six bowling options, did not offer too many freebies, though Edgbaston hero Akash Deep struggled to find his rhythm in his debut game here. After a wicketless afternoon session, Ravindra Jadeja dismissed Ollie Pope (44 off 104) first ball after tea, with a delivery that turned away from length. Five overs later, Jasprit Bumrah weaved his magic to pierce Harry Brook’s defense.

In the afternoon session, Rishabh Pant had an injury scare when an angled down-leg ball from Bumrah crashed into his left fingertips, forcing him to leave the field. Dhruv Jurel substituted for him and did a fine job. Pant’s injury, however, is not serious, and he is expected to resume wicketkeeping duties on Friday.

India kept England’s run rate in check, but Root and Pope managed to take the hosts to 153 for two at tea. England, known for their ultra-aggressive approach, had a rather subdued session by their standards, with Root and Pope adopting a classical Test-match batting approach. They were content to leave balls outside the off-stump to ensure no damage was done. A total of 70 runs were scored from 24 overs in the middle session.

Root brought up his fifty with a boundary in the fine-leg region.

In the morning, India all-rounder Nitish Kumar Reddy struck twice in an eventful over to leave England at 83 for two at lunch. On expected lines, Prasidh Krishna made way for Bumrah as the sole change in the Indian playing XI.

The trio of Bumrah, Akash Deep, and Mohamed Siraj asked a few questions, but the England opening duo of Ben Duckett (23 off 40) and Zak Crawley (18 off 43) survived the first hour of play, reaching 39 for no loss in 13 overs. Due to the unique slope, the Indian bowlers understandably took some time to get used to the up-and-down nature of the ground while running in.

Bumrah bowled from both the Pavilion End and Nursery End, while Akash Deep, who took a match haul of 10 wickets at Edgbaston, bowled with the new ball from the Nursery End. Captain Shubman Gill could have brought back Akash Deep after the first hour, but instead, he gave the ball to Reddy from the Nursery End, and he did not disappoint.

The first breakthrough was a rather lucky one, with Duckett gloving a short ball on the leg side to the wicketkeeper. The following ball, Pope could have been dismissed, but Gill couldn’t latch on to a tough chance at gully. The last ball of the over produced the wicket of Crawley. It was a beauty that seamed away from length, inducing an outside edge to the keeper.

Though the crowd capacity at the hallowed ground is just over 30,000, it seemed the whole of London was flocking to the venue, with a sea of fans emerging from the St. John’s Wood tube station nearby. Test cricket may be struggling for regular attendance in some nations, but a sell-out crowd in this series so far has reaffirmed that the traditional format continues to thrive in this country. Fans have also flown in from India for the marquee fixture, with a family from Bengaluru shelling out as much as 1200 pounds for three tickets bought from touts outside the ground.