Not far away from the two London Derby clashes at The Oval, India and England locked horns in a hard-nosed day of attritional cricket at Lord’s. As the Indian fast bowlers kept hurling assaults at the English batters all day, Joe Root rose to the challenge, weathering one storm after another to push England past India’s first-innings total – but only just.
England made 391 in the first innings, and accrued a slender lead of 27 runs. Root got 180 of these, and he returned unvanquished.
Even after three days of hard-fought cricket, there are no favourites. The game hangs in balance, and Day 4 is likely to be the day when one team gain an edge over another.
Not long ago, there were a lot of hues and cries over Root's inclusion in the Fab Four, a term probably coined by the late Martin Crowe. Root’s conversion rate was ordinary compared to his rivals, and he had not scored a home century since 2018. But with two hundreds in two Test matches, he has exorcised the ghosts.
Apart from Root’s masterpiece, Mohammed Siraj’s hard graft was the highlight of the innings. Dom Sibley’s wicket was the outcome of a brilliantly executed plan, while Haseeb Hameed missed a straight overpitched ball. But his other two wickets were rewards of relentless toil. He finished with 30-7-94-4, and throughout the innings, looked the likeliest of the four fast bowlers to strike.
The Indian openers have done well in this series, but this is going to be yet another litmus test. Considering the lean patch of the middle order and the long tail, the openers need to provide a solid start. There has been little movement for pacers. Patience will be key here.
Betway Fantasy Tips
- The pitch has not offered much for the pacers. We have seen many an edge fall short of the slip cordon. Rohit Sharma and K.L. Rahul will just need to bat out the initial phase, and things will become a lot easier as the day progresses.
- Even at 39, James Anderson is the go-to man for England. While the young guns have risen up occasionally, the pace attack still revolves around him.
- India need to bat out the whole day to be in the game. A target of 280-320 will be competitive.