England batters, who were stunned in Birmingham last week en route to the team's 336-run loss, put on a cautious show against the relentless Indian pace attack, after opting to bat first in the third Test of the series at the Lord's. Both were very unlike what has defined the Bazball era thus far. And this prompted India captain Shubman Gill to show no mercy to England as he sledged Joe Root and Ollie Pope with a sarcastic sledge during the second session of Day 1 on Thursday.
At one time during the afternoon session in London, England were scoring at a run rate of 2.95. It was the second time in the Bazball era, where they batted 72 times previously, that they scored at under three runs per over in the opening 40 overs of an innings. The previous instance was also at the Lord's, back in 2022 against New Zealand, when they managed 112 for four in 40 overs, before scripting a successful 277-run chase. For the context, England boast a run rate of 4.6 during this timeframe, with India being the next-best side (3.63).
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During the second session on Thursday, England scored just 70 runs in 24 overs, implying a run rate of just 2.91, also the second-slowest instance after that Test match against New Zealand.
{{/usCountry}}During the second session on Thursday, England scored just 70 runs in 24 overs, implying a run rate of just 2.91, also the second-slowest instance after that Test match against New Zealand.
{{/usCountry}}Amid England's cautious show against the Indian attack, Gill, in a video shared by the broadcasters, showed no mercy to Root and Pope as he sledged England, saying: "No more entertaining cricket. Welcome to boring Test cricket, boys." The 25-year-old cheered on his team after they dished out 28 consecutive dot balls as he took a dig at the home team.
The commentator added: “Shubman is saying this because if you look at the run rate, it's 2.95, which means Bazball went out of the window.”
Earlier in the day, Nitish Kumar Reddy struck twice in his first over during the opening session of the day to remove England openers Ben Duckett and Zak Crawley in a space of just four balls. However, Root and Pope stayed patient through the second session in London to deny India a third wicket. The former England captain carved out a fifty as well, while Pope remains unbeaten on 44 as England stood at 153 for two at Tea. It was Root’s 67th fifty in Test cricket.