On a rain-hit day with just 72.3 overs bowled, Joe Root notched up his 37th Test hundred as England posted 387, aided by Carse (56) and Smith (51). Jasprit Bumrah starred with a five-for — his 13th overseas. In reply, KL Rahul’s unbeaten 53 guided India to 145/3 at stumps, trailing by 242.
Rahul anchored India’s reply, steadying the innings after Jaiswal’s early exit. He and Karun Nair added 61 for the second wicket. Nair confidently overturned a caught-behind call via DRS before finding the boundary off Carse. He rotated the strike well, while Rahul’s crisp drive through extra cover brought up their 50-run stand.
Nair (40) fell to Stokes as Root broke the outfield catches record. Archer tested Gill with pace early on. Rahul remained calm, picking up runs behind the wicket.
Gill (16) fell after a lovely straight drive, edging Woakes to Smith, who stood up to the stumps. The plan worked as the ball tailed away late. Pant, after settling in against Bashir, struck two boundaries. Rahul remained composed and brought up his fifty, anchoring the innings.
Root began the day with his 37th Test century before Bumrah struck back, removing Stokes, Root, and Woakes in quick succession. Smith was dropped by Rahul in the slips and capitalised on the chance. A surprising ball change by India after just 10.4 overs, which aided movement, ended up favouring England.
Smith and Carse added quick runs after a tough phase. Smith reached his fifty with a single before Lunch. He fell soon after, edging Siraj to the keeper and ending the 84-run stand. Bumrah then bowled Archer to complete his first five-for at Lord’s. Carse was dropped with just one wicket remaining.
Carse survived two dropped chances in a single Siraj over, striking a six down the ground in between to reach his fifty, but Siraj eventually had the final say, bowling him with a pinpoint yorker to wrap up England’s innings at 387.
Jaiswal began with three boundaries in the first over but fell soon after, edging Archer to Brook in the slips. Rahul then stepped in to steady the innings as England held the upper hand.
Joe Root dominates at Lord’s with a fine century.
The day began with Joe Root elegantly bringing up his 37th Test century with a boundary, moving past Rahul Dravid and Steve Smith on the all-time hundreds list, as India, in urgent need of a breakthrough during the morning session, once again placed their hopes on Jasprit Bumrah, their premier fast bowler, to deliver under pressure
Brief Scores:India 145/3 (KL Rahul 53*, Karun Nair 40; Jofra Archer 1-22, Ben Stokes 1-16) trail England 352/7 (Joe Root 104, Jamie Smith 51*; Jasprit Bumrah 4-63, Nitish Kumar Reddy 2-62) by 242 runs
