JOE ROOT finished unbeaten on 99 as England reached 251-4 at stumps on the opening day of the third Test against India at Lord's on Thursday.
England were struggling at 44-2 after Indian pacer Nitish Kumar Reddy struck twice in his opening over, removing openers Ben Duckett and Zak Crawley. Root came in and steadied the innings, building partnerships and keeping the scoreboard moving at just over three an over, slower than England’s usual 'Bazball' tempo.
Root, in his 156th Test, again played a crucial role after England captain Ben Stokes won the toss and chose to bat on a sunny day at Lord's. Stokes was 39 not out at the close, having added an unbroken 79-run partnership with Root for the fifth wicket.
Stokes appeared to tweak his groin towards the end of the day, raising concerns for England, especially as fast bowler Jofra Archer was recalled to the side after a long injury break.
Earlier, Root had shared a 109-run stand with Ollie Pope. The partnership, built over 35 overs, helped England recover after the early wickets. Pope scored 44 after surviving a close chance on his first ball.
"It's not always been the way we've gone about our cricket, but I think long term in the game hopefully that will reward us if we can kick on tomorrow," Pope told Sky Sports.
Before the match, much of the focus was on the return of Jasprit Bumrah, the top-ranked Test bowler, after he was rested in India’s 336-run win at Edgbaston that levelled the five-match series at 1-1.
However, it was Reddy who made the biggest early impact. Bowling from the Nursery End, the 22-year-old took two wickets in four balls on his debut at Lord’s, ending the day with 2-46 in 14 overs.
His third delivery dismissed Duckett (23), caught down the leg side by wicketkeeper Rishabh Pant off a gloved pull. With the last ball of the same over, Reddy bowled a full-length delivery that swung late and took Crawley’s outside edge, with Pant taking the catch. Crawley made 18.
"I feel great bowling from that (Nursery) end," Reddy said after stumps. "I don't know much about the slope, but from that end when I bowled it's been moving a lot, and after pitching also it's going good."
Root masterclass
Root reached his half-century with a glance through fine leg off Reddy, his seventh four, coming off 102 balls. He remained steady throughout the day.
Pope was dismissed to the first ball after tea, edging Ravindra Jadeja to substitute wicketkeeper Dhruv Jurel, who was fielding after Pant suffered a finger injury.
Harry Brook followed soon after, bowled by Bumrah between bat and pad for 11. Bumrah ended with 1-35 from 18 overs.
At 172-4, Stokes came in to join Root. Stokes, who last scored a Test hundred during the Ashes two years ago at Lord's, was on 27 when Reddy’s lbw appeal was turned down on umpire’s call.
Root went past 80 with an on-driven boundary off Reddy, and play was briefly halted due to a ladybird interruption at the ground.
In the final moments, Stokes defended Akash Deep’s last two deliveries of the day, unable to rotate the strike, leaving Root one run short of his 37th Test century and eighth at Lord’s.
(With inputs from agencies)
