ROOT RAISES HOPES
England captain defiant as India remain on top in second Test
London, Aug. 13: England captain Joe Root’s latest rescue mission with the bat could not prevent India maintaining their grip on the second Test at Lord’s on Friday.
The hosts were 119-3 at stumps on the second day, still 245 runs adrift of India’s first-innings 364.
But amid yet another top-order collapse, star batsman Root was 48 not out.
Root had come in with England struggling at 23-2 after Mohammed Siraj took two wickets in successive deliveries — with the recalled Haseeb Hameed out for a golden duck.
Together with Rory Burns, Root repaired some of that damage in a third-wicket partnership of 85 before the left-handed opener was lbw to Mohammed Shami for 49.
The second ball after tea saw Dom Sibley, on 11, tamely chip Siraj to midwicket — a repeat of the struggling opener’s careless first-innings dismissal during last week’s rain-marred drawn first Test in Nottingham.
His exit brought in Hameed, playing his first Test since the last of his three previous caps, all in India five years ago. During the absence he suffered injuries and a loss of form that saw the now 24year-old move from Lancashire to Nottinghamshire.
Hameed had replaced Zak Crawley, averaging just 11 in Tests this year.
But Hameed’s long wait for a home debut Test innings ended, bowled first ball playing down the wrong line to Siraj.
England were 23-2 — the
15th time in their 19 Test innings this year they had lost their second wicket before reaching 50.
That left Root, the lone England batsman to pass fifty at Trent Bridge with
scores of 64 and 109, facing an all-too familiar repair job.
Root blocked the hattrick ball and when he square-cut Ishant Sharma for four to go to 14, surpassed Graham Gooch’s tally of 8,900 Test runs to go second behind Alastair Cook (12,472) in England’s all-time list.
That shot came during a flurry of four boundaries in six balls, with Burns hitting three fours in one Siraj over — an off-drive and two resounding pulls.
And even as batting became increasingly awkward under the floodlights, Root still eased Jasprit Bumrah through
the covers for four with a defensive push.
FIVE-WICKET
ANDERSON
Earlier James Anderson took 5-64 as India were dismissed after resuming on their overnight 276-3 having lost the toss.
It was the 31st time in 164 matches that Anderson had taken five wickets in a Test innings and the seventh occasion at Lord’s.
Anderson’s haul came amid some sloppy England fielding with several catches dropped and run-out chances missed.