Islamabad, July 11, 2025: Joe Root and Ollie Pope batted with great patience against a steady Indian bowling unit in England vs India, guiding England to 153-2 by the tea break on day one of the third Test at Lord’s on Thursday.
Following the early dismissals of openers Ben Duckett and Zak Crawley, Root and Pope shifted to a cautious, risk-free strategy—quite different from England’s recent aggressive Bazball approach. However, their method worked as India couldn’t claim another wicket, despite having Jasprit Bumrah, the world’s top-ranked Test bowler, back in their lineup.
Root completed his 67th Test fifty, adding to his 36 centuries as England’s top run scorer. His half-century came from 102 deliveries, including seven boundaries. He remained unbeaten on 54 at the interval, while Pope was not out on 44.
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India faced another setback when their attacking wicketkeeper Rishabh Pant left the field due to a finger injury. Earlier, England skipper Ben Stokes won the toss under bright skies and likely expected his batters to capitalize on ideal conditions.
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India, fresh from their dominant 336-run win in the second Test at Edgbaston, started strongly with Bumrah bowling an impressive opening spell. Crawley struck boundaries off Akash Deep and Mohammed Siraj but struggled to settle. Soon after the drinks break, Nitish Kumar Reddy dismissed Duckett for 23 with a loose shot down the leg side, caught by Pant.
Pope was dropped first ball at gully, before Reddy removed Crawley for 18 with a delivery that moved away sharply. England reached 83-2 at lunch, with India celebrating wildly.
