Day 1 of the third Test at Lord’s saw England adopt a different approach after deciding to bat first against India. Former Indian spinner Ravichandran Ashwin noted that England moved away from their aggressive Bazball style, opting instead for more traditional Test match batting.
It was Joe Root’s brilliance with the bat that impressed Ashwin the most. Speaking on his YouTube channel, Ashwin praised Root’s composed innings and said it served as a perfect example of how Test cricket should be played.
“It was a great day for England. Everyone believed England was going to continue with Bazball, but they betrayed everyone by playing Prankball instead. They usually score at a net run rate of 4, 4.5 an over, but today was different. England were going at three runs an over. I had previously discussed that Joe Root scoring runs is very important for the team. Commeth the man, Commeth the hour. His innings was a lesson in how Test cricket needs to be played. Root is back,” Ashwin said.
Root crossed the 3000-run mark against India in Tests and ended the day unbeaten on 99, just one run away from his eighth Test century at Lord’s. Along with Ben Stokes, he stitched an unbeaten 79-run partnership for the fifth wicket, helping England finish at 251/4 at stumps on Day 1.
Ashwin also pointed out that the pitch conditions at Lord’s were unusual and showed signs of subcontinental behaviour, especially the variable bounce and low carry.
“If you look at this pitch, it possesses some sub-continent tendencies. The ball usually softens up after 60 overs, but if you look at Ravindra Jadeja, one back of a length delivery hit Joe Root’s bat very low. Now, this on Day 1 at Lord’s is quite a contrast to the conditions that you expect in England. The up and bounce at Lord’s was always going to be a concern, and we saw that when Nitish Reddy picked up two wickets and also had Ben Stokes in trouble momentarily,” he added.
Looking ahead to Day 2, Ashwin advised India to wrap up the England innings quickly to avoid letting the pitch deteriorate further in England’s favour.
“There is contrasting bounce and variable pace on this pitch. If I were India, I would be telling the bowler to roll them out in the first session tomorrow. Can they keep England below 350? Because the longer England play, this surface is going to play tricks,” he concluded.
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