Lord's Test: England score 251/4 on Day 1 versus India
What's the story
In a dramatic turn of events, Joe Root's unbeaten 99 has put England in a strong position against India on Day 1 of the third Test at Lord's. The match is crucial as both teams are tied at one victory each in the series. Batting first after winning the toss, England ended the day at 251/4 with Root and Ben Stokes at the crease.
1st session
England reach 83/2 at lunch
The first session of the day saw England reach 83/2 at lunch. India's Nitish Kumar Reddy made an impact by dismissing both openers in his first over. Zak Crawley was out for 18 while Ben Duckett fell for 23 after gloving a pull off Reddy to Dhruv Jurel. England were 43/0 before getting reduced to 44/2 after 14 overs. Ollie Pope and Root steadied the England innings, adding 39 runs.
Player performances
Root, Pope frustrate India with century-plus stand
Root and Pope's partnership was key in stabilizing England's innings after the early wickets. Pope was dropped by Shubman Gill at gully on his first ball but went on to bat confidently with Root. Pope (44) was dismissed by Ravindra Jadeja in the 3rd session as England were reduced to 153/3 in the 50th over, Jasprit Bumrah was brought back and in a four-over spell, he delivered a breakthrough for India by dismissing Harry Brook (11) with an inswinging delivery.
Game progress
Stokes survives injury scare, Root remains unbeaten
Stokes survived a reviewed LBW call on 27 via umpire's call and seemed to have injured his groin while leaving a ball outside off stump. The injury raised concerns over his bowling capabilities and England's attack, especially with Jofra Archer's return still uncertain. Root remained unbeaten on 99 at the end of Day 1, having faced 191 balls and hit seven boundaries. His innings has been instrumental. Meanwhile, Stokes has scored an unbeaten 39 runs from 102 balls. The two have added 79* runs from 170 balls.
Record
Root surpasses 3,000 Test runs vs India
Root, who is closing in on his 37th Test hundred, attained a milestone versus India. With his 45th run of the contest, Root completed the mark of 3,000 runs versus India in Tests. In 33 matches (60 innings), versus India, Root currently owns 3,054 runs at 58.73 at end of Day 1's play. Root is closing in on his 8th century versus India on home soil. He is one shy of 11 Test hundreds versus India.
Do you know?
Root completes 7,000 runs on home soil
As per ESPNcricinfo, Root has completed 7,000 Test runs on home soil. In 82 matches (143 innings), Root has 7,000 runs at 55.11 with 55 fifty-plus scores. On Friday, he can get to his 22nd ton on home soil.
Bowling
Summary of the Indian bowlers
Jasprit Bumrah claimed 1/35 from 18 overs. He clocked 3 maidens. Akash Deep proved to be ineffective. He conceded 75 runs from 17 overs, conceding at 4.40 runs an over. Mohammed Siraj was tidy, conceding 33 runs from his 14 overs (5 maidens). Nitish Kumar Reddy bowled 14 overs and clocked 2/46. Spinners Jadeja and Washington Sundar bowled 10 overs each. They conceded 47 runs in these 20 overs.