ENG vs IND 2025, Lord’s Test Day 1 Highlights: Joe Root unbeaten on 99 as England crawl to 251/4 at 3 RPO – Has Bazball hit a pause?
Brief Scores: England 251/4 (Joe Root 99*, Ollie Pope 44, Nitish Reddy 2/46) vs India at stumps on Day 1.
Thanks to India’s dominating all-round performance in a 336-run victory during the second Test at Edgbaston, the series was poised at 1-1. The attention turned to the third fixture of the series at Lord’s, the most successful venue for the tourists in England with three red-ball victories.
Under bright sunshine, the home captain, Ben Stokes, won the toss and decided to bat first. They made just one change as Jofra Archer returned to the red-ball format after four years. The touring captain, Shubman Gill, however, wanted to bowl first to use the early assistance. Jasprit Bumrah replaced Prasidh Krishna on the side.
Even though England’s head coach, Brendon McCullum, requested a spicy and bouncy surface, the real picture was different. The 22-yards looked dry and good for batting, especially with the sun showing its full power.
Read More: What should be India bowlers plan of action against Joe Root?
Let’s take a look at how the three sessions panned out on Day 1 of the third Eng vs Ind 2025 series at Lord’s:
Nitish Reddy strikes twice in one over before England reach 83/2 at lunch
England enjoyed the first hour of the opening day, where both openers, Ben Duckett and Zak Crawley, negotiated the new ball threat. Bumrah asked a few tough questions but didn’t get the desired reward. The balls were dropping short in the slip corridor, and after a while, Gill decided to use the helmet by taking a step forward.
Despite those plays and misses, the home side got the boundaries and reached 39/0 in the first hour. But Nitish Reddy came as an out-of-syllabus question. In his first over, he sent both openers back in the hut. Duckett was unlucky getting his gloves into the leg side. But Crawley got a peach as his tentative poke was enough for the ball to brush the glove and end in the wicket-keeper’s hands.
However, Joe Root and Ollie Pope ensured no more blows in the session. The former looked in good touch with unbeaten 24 runs in 34 balls as they went to the break with 83/2 on the board.
Ollie Pope and Joe Root keep India bowlers at bay; England 153/2 at tea
For the first half an hour of the second session, both batters looked to be defensive in their approach. They didn’t try many shots and respected Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj, who were asking a few tough questions. It was incredible from both batters to restheir normal Bazball plan.
Naturally, the tourists tried a few extra plans in the second hour and got punished around the park. They also received a huge blow when Rishabh Pant left the field after injuring his fingertip, and Dhruv Jurel replaced him with the gloves. England got just 70 runs in the mid-session, but losing no wickets pleased them the most. With the old-fashioned batting, they stretched them to 153/2 at the tea break.
Read More: ENG vs IND, 2025: Statistical review of India at Lord’s over the years
Joe Root stands on 99* as England finished with 251/4
It was an exceptional start for the visitors in the session. Pope looked to guide Ravindra Jadeja into the off-side but got a faint edge. Jurel, who kept his head stable, grabbed a fine catch behind the stumps. Bumrah’s magic was enough to break through the new number one Test batter Harry Brook’s defense. Stokes, short of runs, walked into the middle under tremendous pressure.
Joe Root was in no mood to follow the Bazball approach, while Stokes did the same. The latter kept struggling with cramps on a hot day. The former England captain finished the day on 99* as Stokes avoided the single on the penultimate batter. England ended the opening day with 251/4.
What to expect on Day 2
India will hope to send Root early on the second day. They will also have to be a crystal clear with their planning against Jamie Smith, who can hurt them with the aggressive batting. For England, the aim is simply to put over 450 runs and keep the visitors in the field for a long time.
Read More: Jofra Archer’s inclusion in England squad rings warning bells for India
Statistical Highlights from Lord’s ENG vs IND 2025 Test, Day 1:
- Since Jun 2022, this is only the second instance of England opting to bat first at home after winning the toss. The first occasion came at Edgbaston during the Ashes 2023 Test.
- Crawley made 18 off 43 at a strike rate of 41.86. This is the third-slowest knock (min 40 balls faced) for an England opener in the Bazball era (since April 2022).
- Root has now registered over 3000 Test runs against India.
- Root now is the fourth leading run-getter against India in international cricket with (4066) runs. He goes past Steve Smith’s 3968 runs in 83 innings.
- Root and Pope have brought up the second-best third-wicket stand (109) for England against India at Lord’s.
- Root now has the joint second-most (103) Test scores of fifty or more, equaling Jacques Kallis and Ricky Ponting. Sachin Tendulkar is at the top with 119 of such scores.
- Root has now recorded the second-most runs (410) against India in Tests at Lord’s. Only Graham Gooch is ahead of him with 588 runs in five innings.
Top Twitter/X reactions from ENG vs IND 2025, Lord’s Test, Day 1
Blockball! More effective than Bazball? Certainly true today.
— Harsha Bhogle (@bhogleharsha) July 10, 2025
Hard-fought day. Stokes’s injury probably cost England 25-30 runs. Though only 4 wickets fell, India’s bowlers quite superb in not giving batsmen free runs. Root’s masterly unbeaten 99 puts England somewhat but if India get him early tomorrow, the pendulum swings other way
— Cricketwallah (@cricketwallah) July 10, 2025
Jasprit Bumrah clean-bowling the world's new No.1 ranked Test batter in the 55th over when he's trying to defend. He's pretty good
— Ben Gardner (@Ben_Wisden) July 10, 2025
Joe Root has worked out that the best way to face Jasprit Bumrah is from the non-striker's end: he faced two balls to Ollie Pope's 28 in Bumrah's five-over spell after lunch, taking singles off both
— Matt Roller (@mroller98) July 10, 2025
Top bowling by Nitish Kumar reddy. Kept hitting good areas.
— Irfan Pathan (@IrfanPathan) July 10, 2025
Read More: Dukes ball becomes ineffective once it loses its shine: What is its impact on game flow
