LONDON (AP) — Joe Root and Ollie Pope were rebuilding England’s innings after the openers were dismissed in the same over by India on the first morning of the Lord’s test on Thursday.
LONDON (AP) — Joe Root and Ollie Pope were rebuilding England’s innings after the openers were dismissed in the same over by India on the first morning of the Lord’s test on Thursday.
England was 83-2 at lunch with Root 24 not out and Ollie Pope on 12.
Their partnership was 39 in 11 overs after Ben Duckett and Zac Crawley were dismissed in the same over by Nitish Kumar Reddy just after drinks.
Duckett and Crawley were tasked by toss-winning captain Ben Stokes with batting first on a green-tinged pitch.
The track was supposed to be at its most wicked in the first hour before any moisture evaporated as it was baked by the start of England’s third heatwave of the summer.
Duckett and Crawley managed to withstand India’s formidable pace trio of Jasprit Bumrah, Akash Deep and Mohammed Siraj though not with any comfort.
But they survived and made it to the first breaks for drinks and a breather — and then they were gone.
The unassuming Nitish Kumar Reddy didn’t play in the first test in Leeds and bowled only six expensive overs in the second test in Birmingham but he replaced Bumrah and his medium pace lulled Duckett, Crawley and Pope into errors.
Duckett tried to pull a short ball but only gloved Reddy and Rishabh Pant produced a great catch behind the stumps.
Pope then tried a loose drive but India captain Shubman Gill at gully couldn’t pull off a stunning one-handed catch.
Still in the same over, Crawley swung and edged behind to give Pant another catch.
Duckett was out for 23, Crawley for 18 and England was fortunate to be 44-2 and not 44-3.
Root and Pope saw England to lunch with their team’s lowest score after 25 overs when they have batted first in the ‘Bazball’ era.
Bumrah’s return at the expense of Prasidh Krishna was confirmed in the only change to the India side which won the second test by 336 runs at Edgbaston, and he took the new ball and found more movement off the pitch than anyone else in the series so far.
Bumrah got an early edge off Duckett that didn’t carry, smashed the opener in the groin, and beat the edge of both batters, but finished with figures of 8-1-13-0.
Deep, coming off a 10-wicket haul at Edgbaston, and Siraj also threatened in vain, while Reddy had 2-15 at lunch.
___
AP cricket:https://apnews.com/hub/cricket
Foster Niumata, The Associated Press