Joe Root’s unbeaten 180, his 22nd Test hundred, on Day 3 of the Lord’s Test provided England an edge over India as they took a 27-run lead in the first innings. Thanks to Root’s effort, England managed to reach 391 in reply to India’s 364 at Stumps on Saturday.
England resumed the day 245 behind India with three wickets down. Covering the deficit seemed like a stiff ask for the struggling batting line-up. But Root, who had almost single-handedly saved England at Trent Bridge, was up to the task. He resumed from an overnight 48 and dominated an excellent, in-form Indian bowling attack. Nothing broke his concentration over the course of the entire day.
Jonny Bairstow gave Root necessary support with 57. Their partnership for the fourth wicket was worth 121. Jos Buttler (23) and Moeen Ali (27) then chipped in with useful contributions.
Root went quiet as England lost their sixth, seventh and eighth wickets in quick successions, but he added 34 for with the last two batters.
For India, Ishant Sharma and Mohammed Siraj bowled their hearts out on a flat deck. Ishant bowled outstanding spells in the middle, taking 3-69 whereas Siraj got 4-94.
Much like the second innings at Trent Bridge, Mohammed Shami went underwarded. He got just two wickets, while Jasprit Bumrah had a bizarre day, where he bowled 13 no balls including five in a single over against James Anderson, who batted bravely against a bouncer barrage before being cleaned up by Shami off the very last ball of the day.
With two more days still left, the Test match hangs in the balance.
Brief scores: India 364 (K.L. Rahul 129; James Anderson 5-62) trail England 391 (Joe Root 180*; Mohammed Siraj 4-94) by 27 runs.