Credit: England Cricket
On the first day of the third Test at Lord’s, England captain Ben Stokes emerged victorious at the toss against his counterpart Shubman Gill and elected to bat first. Jasprit Bumrah made a comeback in India’s playing XI, superseding Prasidh Krishna, who couldn't be impactful for Team India in the initial two matches. India got an ideal start in the match when the hosts lost their openers Ben Duckett and Zak Crawley against Nitish Kumar Reddy, who delivered the blow to the home side in his first over. After Duckett’s fall, England needed a partnership which could bring them back into the game.
Joe Root showcased his experience in pressure and built a 109-run stand with Ollie Pope. Root brought his fifty in 102 balls while Pope lost his battle against Ravindra Jadeja and went back to the dugout after scoring 44 off 104 on the first ball after tea break after batting out the entire second session without losing the wicket. Harry Brook, who scored a stellar ton with his bat in the last match, got cleaned up by Jasprit Bumrah. The youngster could score only 11 off 20.
Joe Root and Ben Stokes gave a tough time to Team India bowlers
After Brook’s wicket, captain Ben Stokes came at the crease to support Root. Taking on India’s bowling attack, both have built an effective partnership of 89 runs. The first day’s play finished after England amassed 251/4 in 83 overs. Root and Stokes still are at the crease.
Root is only one run away from his 37th Test hundred and eighth one at Lord’s. The right-handed batter has scored 99 runs with nine fours in 191 deliveries while Stokes is playing at an unbeaten 39 off 102. From India, Nitish has been the most-successful bowler so far with two wickets while Jadeja and Bumrah have hunted one batter apiece.
