India vs England: Root stays firm as visitors keep Bazball in check

London: England swapped high-octane ‘Bazball’ for good old-fashioned disciplined cricket to make India toil on an agonisingly slow surface as the third Test between the two battling sides got off to an attritional start here at Lord’s on Thursday.

Excitement was abuzz even a day before the contest at the ‘Home of Cricket’ as the pitch sported a fair sprinkling of grass, promising a fast and bouncy track with something in it for bowlers. Daily Mail, a prominent publication here, even reported of a private meeting between England coach Brendon McCullum and captain Ben Stokes with Lord’s head groundsman Karl McDermott, MCC’s director of cricket operations Rob Lynch and England selector Luke Wright.

It said McCullum, who has always wanted batting-friendly tracks, was aghast at the ‘sub-continent’ type of track in Edgbaston and asked McDermott to prepare one with more ‘pace, bounce and sideways movement,’ that would provide a somewhat even contest between the bat and ball. So the enthusiasm, which is usually high at Lord’s, especially when India or Australia are playing, was massive judging by the amount of grass McDermott left on the wicket on the eve of the contest. It looked like one may get a surface similar to the World Test Championship Final between Australia and South Africa here last month where 14 wickets each fell on day one and two respectively.

Well, McCullum didn’t get what he wished for, nor the fans, some who paid astronomical prices on the resale market, as a slow and a low surface — sub-continent type! — greeted both the teams when they checked in on Thursday morning. So Stokes, who won the toss for a third successive time, chose to bat first only for the second time in the ‘Bazball’ era, hoping to put India under scoreboard pressure. However, the slowness of the surface meant they couldn’t go at breakneck speed like they usually do, but grind it out. And former captain Joe Root, cut from the old school of batting, felt at home, scoring a patient 99 not out off 191 balls to take England to 251/4 at stumps on an intensely scorching summer day.

India welcomed the return of Jasprit Bumrah, but the pace ace looked rusty in the opening spell, seemingly struggling with the infamous slope of Lord’s as he sprayed the ball all over. He didn’t concede runs but looked ineffective in the opening spell. Second Test hero Akash Deep, sharing the new ball, too couldn’t hit the desired lines and lengths as England openers Ben Duckett and Zak Crawley motored on without much problem.

Having negotiated the opening hour safely, they looked on course to switching gears before all-rounder Nitish Kumar Reddy (2/35) produced a dream 14th over to force England to adopt a safety-first approach. First, Nitish had Duckett caught down the leg-side and then almost had Pope the very next ball, but Gill dropped a tough chance at gully. Nitish, however, was not denied a second wicket as he produced a peach to have Crawley caught to have England in a spot of bother at 44/2.

Root, one of the most accomplished batters across eras, then sussed up the conditions brilliantly. It was the kind of pitch that necessitated disciplined batting and not breathtaking shots, this current England team plays in the Bazball era. Shot-making was extremely difficult on the sluggish surface and slow outfield, but Root stood firm like a rock to continuously defy India, who actually bowled smartly despite not getting much help. Root first forged a 109-run partnership for the third wicket with Ollie Pope (43), that steadied some early turbulence. He then resisted a post-tea charge from India, stitching an unbroken 79-run stand for the fifth wicket with Stokes (39 not out).