3rd Test: Where is Bazball? India force England to hit snooze on the B word at Lord's

TimesofIndia.com in London: You knew India were in their heads when Ben Stokes won the toss and elected to bat for the third Test at Lord's. It's something which has rarely happened in the Bazball era and something which was a shift from the side's template of "we will chase anything" template.

They persisted with it in the first two games of the series but were challenged in Leeds and outplayed in Birmingham, and were left with no option but to move to Plan B. And B was anything but Bazball. Go Beyond The Boundary with our YouTube channel. SUBSCRIBE NOW!Shubman Gill & Co. forced the hosts to hit snooze on the original B word and made them work hard for every run in front of the capacity crowd at the Home of Cricket. It was unusual, even for the thousands braving the harsh sun, and the tricky surface further helped India maintain that firm stranglehold over the day's play. Score: India vs England 3rd TestThe more the pitch baked under the sun, the more it became two paced. The odd one was keeping lower than usual and Ravindra Jadeja got some grip from the surface in the final session of day's play. It was another sub-continentish strip but with the ball not coming nicely on to the bat, run-scoring was hard work and disciplined bowling didn't allow the hosts to cut loose. Rubbing more salt to their approach, the Indian camp was very chirpy and the sledges of "welcome to boring Test cricket", "Bazball, come on I want to see" were heard loud and clear on the stump mic.

Scoring rate remained just a shade over 3 for majority of the day and England's 70/0 in 24 overs bowled during the post Lunch session was their slowest session in the last three years. Even when they weren't picking wickets, India bowlers continued to keep the stumps in play and very sharp field placements didn't allow the opposition to dominate with a free-flowing approach.

Except Akash Deep, who clearly struggled to adjust to the slope and never found the ideal rhythm, every Indian bowler maintained control and there were no freebies on offer.

The questions were constantly asked with their discipline in lines and lengths and it was not Bumrah, not Siraj, not Akash Deep but Nitish Kumar Reddy who made an instant impact when he scalped both England openers in the same over. While he was lucky to get Ben Duckett with that long hop on the leg-side, the same can't be said for Zak Crawley, and the rest of his spell.

The first Test at Lord's wasn't a problem for the youngster as he looked in no trouble with the slope and in fact used it to his advantage.

Under the sun, Nitish's reduced pace (compared to other Indian bowlers) allowed more air time to the ball which was following a nice curve from the hand to the wicketkeeper's gloves. Credit to them, the hosts recovered well with Ollie Pope and Joe Root stand post Lunch as they didn't lose a wicket in the afternoon session.The runs weren't coming at Bazball pace but they weren't losing wickets. India toiled hard, very hard but picking wickets was hard work as nothing was happening off the pitch or in the air for the quicks.

The ball, even without crashing into the digital boards behind the boundary ropes, had softened up a bit and a little bit of magic was the need of the hour in the last session.

Ravindra Jadeja with the ball, first ball after Tea and India finally tasted success as the left-armer found Pope's edge to break the frustrating stand. The success lifted India's spirits after what had been a very tiring day and it was then over to that man Bumrah again to wake the crowd up when he went through Harry Brook's defence to pick another England wicket.

From 2/152, the hosts were reduced to 4/172 and no madness with the bat meant the run-rate was always under check.It will not be fair to comment on pitch without seeing how both teams bat in their first essay but most of the day's play suggested batting will be hard work and reiterated that bowlers can't afford to miss their mark. Joe Root put on an exhibition with the bat as he operated with a lot of patience, discipline and composure to grind out a terrific unbeaten hand.

There was nothing silly on display from the classy right-hander who stamped his class even when the odd one turned sharply, some kept low and batting overall wasn't the breeze we saw in the first two fixtures.England needed their experienced pro to dig deep in these conditions and he did just that with a masterful hundred. A repair job with Pope and then a solid stand with Ben Stokes meant the hosts ended the day in a position they wouldn't complain about. Pitch aside, India would consider the first day as a moral victory because a young and inexperienced unit forced the Bazballers to explore different ways of scoring, and surviving in the middle.

And for a change, it wasn't hitting your way out of trouble.Brief Scores:England: 251 for 4 in 83 overs at stumps on Day 1 (Joe Root batting 99, Ben Stokes batting 39, Ollie Pope 44; Nitish Kumar Reddy 2/46).