Root’s unbeaten 99 rescues England after early blows at Lord’s

Joe Root’s masterful unbeaten 99 steadied England after early setbacks on a grinding first day of the third Test against India at Lord’s.

England closed on 251-4, recovering from 44-2 after debutant Nitish Kumar Reddy removed both openers in his first over. Reddy, the fourth seamer used by Shubman Gill, dismissed Ben Duckett for 23 and Zak Crawley for 18 to claim 2-46.

Root, typically composed, shared a 109-run stand with Ollie Pope, who made 44 before falling to Ravindra Jadeja after tea. Harry Brook was bowled by Jasprit Bumrah for 11, leaving England vulnerable at 172-4.

Captain Ben Stokes, unbeaten on 39, joined Root in an unbroken 79-run partnership but appeared to tweak his groin late on, raising concerns over England’s balance.

“It’s not always been the way we’ve gone about our cricket, but long term hopefully that will reward us if we can kick on tomorrow,” Pope told Sky Sports.

Root was left one run short of his 37th Test hundred after ladybirds briefly halted play, while Stokes defended out the final overs. India’s attack was disciplined, with Bumrah finishing with 1-35 in 18 overs.

(Source: AFP)