London: Joe Root hit his second fifty of the ongoing Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy series while stitching a patient unbroken 109-run stand with Ollie Pope as the duo helped England reach 153/2 in 49 overs against India at tea on day one of the third Test at the Lord’s here on Thursday.
It was a session of attritional Test cricket, where Root (54 not out) and Pope (44 not out) were made to work hard by India’s bowlers, who maintained tight lines and were disciplined in their efforts. But whenever India overpitched a wee bit, the duo latched on to it to get runs.
India also had an injury scare when Rishabh Pant left the field after suffering a left finger injury when attempting to stop a leg-side delivery, and Dhruv Jurel took up the keeping gloves. A latest update from broadcasters Sky Sports said there is no serious concern at this stage about Pant, as he apparently chipped the nail on his index finger and is currently icing it.
The second session began with Pope nicely flicking Bumrah through square leg for four. But after that, Bumrah and Siraj turned out to be a menace for Root and Pope by bowling maidens and building the pressure. Bumrah even managed to beat Pope and hit him on the pads in consecutive deliveries.
After 28 dot balls in a row, Pope got a run off Bumrah, by somehow managing to squeeze his vicious inswinging yorker to mid-wicket. With wickets not coming, India also suffered a blow when Pant put his left hand out to try and stop a down leg delivery from Bumrah, but it hit him on the fingertips of his left hand and left him in immense pain, which needed treatment from the physio Kamlesh Jain.
Pant stayed on for the rest of the 34th over and then walked off the field, with Jurel stepping up as his substitute behind the stumps. Amidst all this, Root and Pope remained resilient to bring up the fifty of their partnership, before the former unfurled a lovely square drive off Mohammed Siraj.
After the drinks break, Root and Pope continued to be patient before the former was in complete control of chipping and cutting Reddy for two boundaries, with the second one coming post a ball change after 42 overs. Root then brought up his 67th Test fifty by clipping Reddy through fine leg for four, sandwiched between Pope taking leg-side boundaries off Akash.
The duo brought up the century of their partnership before ending the session in England’s favour, though India will be interested in the turn and bounce Ravindra Jadeja got in his over before the tea break came.
Earlier, Root and Pope shared an unbroken 39-run stand after Nitish Kumar Reddy’s double strikes and ensured England reached 83/2 in 25 overs at lunch.
Bowling at a gentle pace and with a reputation of making the most out of a new-ish red ball, Reddy struck twice in four balls of his first over to remove Duckett and Crawley, who survived the first hour’s play. It took Root (24 not out) and Pope (12 not out) to lead England’s recovery and reach lunch without any more damage.
Brief scores:
England 153/2 in 49 overs (Joe Root 54 not out, Ollie Pope 44 not out; Nitish Kumar Reddy 2-35) against India
(IANS)
