England’s decision to bat first on a green top in the third Test against India at Lord’s wasn’t exactly vindicated as they went to Lunch at 83/2 on the opening day. With India’s pace attack strengthened by the return of maestro Jasprit Bumrah, in place of Prasidh Krishna, the openers of the home team were probed in different ways.
There was a sliver of movement on offer for both Bumrah and his new-ball partner Akash Deep, with the plays and misses producing drama. To spice up things, there was uneven bounce too as bonafide edges did not carry to the wicketkeeper or the slip cordon right through the first hour.
The false shot percentage in the first 15 overs was 38.4% – the most for the first 15 overs of any Test innings in England since 2006. England’s batting approach wasn’t falling in accordance with Bazball, the hyper-aggressive style they have adopted under Ben Stokes and Brendon McCullum. While both Akash Deep and Bumrah were unfortunate not to have a wicket against their name, Nitish Reddy was on the other end of the spectrum as he managed to inflict a double whammy.
"For him to come and deliver on a day like this" 👏
Dinesh Karthik on Nitish Kumar Reddy taking two early wickets for India 💪 pic.twitter.com/T5FOaqPTj7
— Sky Sports Cricket (@SkyCricket) July 10, 2025
In his first over he had Ben Duckett strangled down the legside while the southpaw attempted a pull. He then sent down a peach of an away-seamer to elicit a poke from Zak Crawley. Sandwiched between the dismissals was a missed opportunity, since captain Shubman Gill failed to latch onto a tough low chance at gully.
Ollie Pope and Joe Root are occupying the crease currently, having added 39 by Lunch to stabilize a rocking ship even as the former had his share of close shaves before the interval. They continued to slug it out on the other side, stitching together a very important partnership worth 109 in 210 balls. Root registered his 103rd score of fifty or more with Pope also nearing the milestone by the stroke of Tea.
An injury to Rishabh Pant exacerbated India’s wicketless session. He suffered a blow to his finger while diving down the legside to collect a ball delivered by Jasprit Bumrah. Dhruv Jurel has substituted the wicketkeeper, who scored centuries in both innings of the previous Test at Edgbaston.
Brief Scores: England 153/2 (Joe Root 54*, Ollie Pope 44*; Nitish Reddy 2-35) vs India
