England put to the test by India’s pacers

England put to the test by India's pacers

England's decision to bat first in the third Test against India at Lord's proved to be a testing affair for the batters. The decision to bat was uncommon for England at home in recent times, but on a green top that had received a bit of trimming on the first morning, England had shown an intention to change up their plans from the previous two Tests of the series.

India's pace attack, bolstered by the return of Jasprit Bumrah, tested the openers in a variety of ways. There was some movement on offer for both Bumrah and his new-ball partner Akash Deep, as well as uneven bounce that at times came to their rescue. Genuine edges fell short of the wicket-keeper or the slip cordon right through the first hour.

The false shot percentage in the first 15 overs was 38.4%, the highest for the first 15 overs of any Test innings in England since 2006. England's pace in scoring was down as a result, with boundaries not coming by as frequently as they have normalised in the Bazball era.

Nitish Reddy made an impact in his first over, having Ben Duckett gloving a pull down the legside, and then producing a peach of an away-seamer to get Zak Crawley nicking behind. Ollie Pope and Joe Root weathered the storm with a fighting partnership, adding 39 by Lunch to steady a rocking boat.

Brief Scores: England 83/2 (Ben Duckett 23; Nitish Reddy 2/14) vs India