ENG vs IND 2025, 3rd Test Day 1 Review: Joe Root shines on attritional day at Home of Cricket

India and England locked horns in the much-anticipated third Test at the iconic Lord's Cricket Ground on Thursday, July 10, with the series being all square at 1-1. The fans would have expected a thrill-a-minute ride on the opening day, especially after seeing 14 wickets fall on Day 1 of the World Test Championship (WTC) final last month at this venue. However, this was a completely different surface, where there was enough assistance for the bowlers, but batters who were willing to grind it out did well.

Ben Duckett and Zak Crawley did well to see out the probing new-ball burst from Jasprit Bumrah and Akash Deep after skipper Ben Stokes won the toss and opted to bat first. However, Nitish Kumar Reddy dismissed both the openers in his first over and the 14th of the day. Joe Root and Ollie Pope showed a lot of grit and determination to take England through to Lunch.

In the second session, the two right-handed batters didn't show much intent to score as they were more interested in keeping their wickets intact. Shubman Gill and Mohammed Siraj even tried to tease them into playing aggressively but they were experienced enough to dodge their way past the shenanigans.

Root brought up his half-century ahead of the Tea break. England remained unscathed as they frustrated the Indian bowlers with their sedate batting.

Ravindra Jadeja gave India the much-needed breakthrough on the first ball after the Tea break. He got the better of Pope, who made 44 off 108 deliveries. Harry Brook came out to the crease but his knock was cut short by Jasprit Bumrah. The 26-year-old could only make 11 off 20 balls.

Stokes walked out to the middle, joining forces with Root with the score at 172/4. The seasoned campaigners batted with caution and added an unbeaten 79-run stand off 170 balls. Root finished unbeaten on 99 off 191 deliveries. Meanwhile, Stokes remained not out on 39 after facing 102 balls.