England captain continued his rich vein of form to help his team take a slender lead of 27 runs on day three of this second Test at Lord’s. India’s bowlers were inconsistent but managed to pick up the last five England wickets for 50 runs to help India recover a bit.
It was a day headlined by Joe Root. The England Test captain continued his sublime and magnificent form and smashed a fantastic 180 not out to lead England’s charge on day three of this second Test match at Lord’s. He broke several records on the way to 180 and helped England eke out a 27-run lead at the end of the day.
The day began in perfect fashion for England. Jonny Bairstow complemented his skipper superbly as the duo added 121 runs for the fourth wicket. The Indian pace attack were inconsistent in the first hour. While they did beat the bat on numerous occasions, there were some boundary balls as well. They couldn’t really build relentless pressure, and the Root-Bairstow kept the scoreboard ticking.
Root had notched up his third straight 50+ score of the series early in the morning session, while Bairstow, who had an overnight score of 6, reached his landmark towards the end of the session. England dominated the morning session as they went through wicketless and also added 97 runs.
The second session started fascinatingly. With the second new-ball seven overs away, India employed the short ball tactic with Mohammed Siraj pounding the ball halfway down the track and Ravindra Jadeja holding the other end up. Siraj got the much-needed breakthrough as he bounced out Bairstow for 57, who fell in the short-ball trap.
India took the second new-ball straight away but didn’t have instant success as the runs started to flow. Root notched up his second successive hundred and continued on his merry way. Jos Buttler didn’t look comfortable at all but still chipped in with 23 and shared a 54-run stand for the fifth wicket with Root. It was Ishant Sharma who broke through Buttler’s defence.
Moeen Ali came in and continued in the same vein and looked good for his 27. It looked like England were in a commanding position at Tea as their score read 314/5 and were trailing by just 50 runs. However, India dried up the runs in the third session, and Ishant’s double-strike turned the tide. He had Ali and Sam Curran nicking to the slip cordon off successive deliveries.
Siraj bowled an exhilarating spell post Tea and constantly hit the pads. However, he didn’t get most of the decisions in his favour apart from one where he dismissed Ollie Robinson. He could’ve had his fifth as he struck Root right in front, but ball-tracking showed that it was umpire’s call on hitting the stumps.
Mark Wood was run out before James Anderson endured a hostile 10-ball over from Jasprit Bumrah, who bowled four no-balls in that over. The veteran England pacer survived that over before Root added some handy boundaries with the tail as he helped England to surpass India’s total of 364. Mohammad Shami finally knocked over Anderson on the last ball of the day.
Root was left stranded on 180 as England were bowled out for 391. Siraj finished with four wickets while Ishant had three. Shami ended with a couple of wickets as well. Bumrah bowled really well throughout the day but remained wicketless while Jadeja kept it tight from his end and sent down 22 economical overs.
The match is evenly poised at the moment. Things are beautifully set up for the last two days, with a few balls keeping low from a length and the pitch getting slower and lower.
Brief Scores
India 364 (Rahul 129, Rohit 83, Anderson 5/62, Robinson 2/73) vs England 391 (Root 180*, Bairstow 57, Siraj 4/94, Ishant 3/69).
