London, July 10 (UNI) India clawed back into the contest after England’s solid start on the opening day of the third Test at Lord’s, thanks to a spirited spell from Nitish Reddy, who struck twice in quick succession to leave the hosts at 83 for 2 at lunch today.
After England captain Ben Stokes elected to bat first on a slightly trimmed surface, openers Zak Crawley and Ben Duckett laid a steady platform, guiding their side to 39 for no loss at the drinks break in 13 overs.
Duckett was the more aggressive of the two early on, finding the fence with a flowing straight drive off Jasprit Bumrah and a flick down the leg side off Akash Deep. Crawley too got going with four boundaries in an over off Akash Deep, mixing elegant drives and fortunate edges.
However, the momentum shifted dramatically when Reddy was introduced into the attack. The young pacer struck twice in the 14th over, first removing Duckett for 23 with a short ball down the leg side that was gloved to Rishabh Pant, and then dismissing Crawley for 18 with a superb delivery that seamed away just enough to find the glove.
Moments earlier, Gill at gully almost pulled off a stunning catch to dismiss Ollie Pope, but couldn’t hold on despite a full-length dive.
At lunch, Joe Root looked composed on 24 off 34 balls, lacing three boundaries including elegant flicks and drives off Mohhamed Siraj and Bumrah. Pope remained unbeaten on 12.
The post-lunch session is set to be crucial as India looks to build on Reddy’s breakthrough spell and apply pressure on England’s middle order.
India’s pacers had a mixed start, with Akash Deep and Siraj leaking early boundaries before the breakthroughs. Bumrah bowled with intensity and movement, but went wicketless in the opening session.
