Root unbeaten on 99 as England score slowly but steadily against India at Lord's

LONDON — One of India's greatest adversaries showed up at Lord's and gave England the edge on the first day of the third test on Thursday.

As England's best batter, Joe Root has had a middling impact on the tied test series so far. But grafting for more than five hours on a roasting pitch earned him an unbeaten 99 that was easily beaconed in a total of 251-4 at stumps.

Root fought for almost the entire first day to vindicate captain Ben Stokes' decision to bat first. Stokes was with him at stumps, on 39, but struggling with a groin or adductor issue that may affect whether he bowls. He had a chance in the last over to run a second single to give Root his century but declined.

Root's grit typified an approach by England that was more caution than aggression, unconventional in the team's three years under coach Brendon McCullum and Stokes, the so-called ''Bazball'' era.

''Slightly different to the way we usually put together an innings but we'll take it,'' batter Ollie Pope told the BBC. ''We want to be a team that is positive and entertaining but we want to play to the situation. Our order is pretty fast scoring on our good days, we all know we can score hundreds off 120 balls, but we need to dig in off this sort of surface.''

Despite hardly a cloud in the sky over Lord's, usually a template for a great batting day, England displayed its slowest scoring in the first session of a test, and reached 100 at its second slowest pace under Bazball. The run rate dropped to 2.75 in the afternoon.

India's fearsome pacers Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj squeezed the scoring, India's fielding was tight, and the green-tinged pitch became sluggish enough for spinners Ravindra Jadeja and Washington Sundar to bowl 20 of the day's 83 overs and take one wicket.

Root was slow but steadfast without offering India a single chance.

In the process, he became the first batter to hit 3,000 test runs against India. He reached his 23rd half-century in 33 tests against India — he's averaging 58 — and was one run away from his 11th test hundred against India, which would tie Steve Smith's record.

His only previous half-century in the series held together the successful last-day run chase in the Leeds opener when England was four down and still 118 runs behind.

This time, he fought for almost the entire day to glue England's first innings in two big partnerships of 109 with Pope and an unbeaten 79 with Stokes. Root has set the platform for England to rack a big total on Friday while India will be pleased it has not been ''Bazballed.''

''Joe Root has inspired everyone in the changing room and in this country,'' Pope said. ''Fingers crossed he can make it a massive one tomorrow.''

More ‘Bazbore' than ‘Bazball'

England was more ''Bazbore'' for a long time in the afternoon as Root and Pope grinded out a sleepy wicketless session including 28 straight dot balls.

There also was a lengthy delay to treat India wicketkeeper Rishabh Pant's index finger, which was damaged while half-stopping leg byes. He didn't return for the last half of the day.

Pant's replacement, Dhruv Jurel, excelled, however.

After Root and Pope scored only 70 runs in 24 overs in the middle session, the tea interval broke Pope's focus. In the first ball after tea, Pope went after Jadeja and Jurel produced a brilliant reflex catch at the stumps. Pope left for 44 off 104 balls.

Harry Brook was then castled on 11 by Bumrah, who grabbed his first wicket in 35 overs stretching back to the Leeds test. He was rested at Edgbaston.

Stokes joined Root and was playing fluidly until he called for the England medic. He has 39 off 102 balls. Root has 99 off 191, including nine boundaries.

Root came into the game just after the first drinks break in the morning.

Opening batters Ben Duckett and Zac Crawley wobbled during the first hour, when the pitch was at its most wicked. But they survived even Bumrah, who found more movement off the pitch than anyone else in the series so far, and got a breather at the drinks break. And then they were gone.

The unassuming Nitish Kumar Reddy came into the series only in the second test for his batting, and bowled six expensive overs at Edgbaston. On Thursday, he changed in for Bumrah and his medium pace lulled Duckett, Crawley and Pope into errors in the same over.

Duckett pulled, Crawley drove, and both edged behind. Pope edged to gully but India captain Shubman Gill couldn't pull off a stunning one-handed catch.

England was 44-2 but Pope and Root came together and led England safely to lunch and tea.

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