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Day 3: Root’s century subdues India’s hopes
Even before the day’s play started, it was clear that if England’s hopes rested on one batter alone, namely their skipper – Joe Root.
Fittingly, Root delivered when it mattered.
His peerless 180 not out, his second successive Test hundred and fifth this year, guided England to a slender first-innings lead against India.
Root hardly erred during a near nine-hour stay at the crease.
Thanks to him, England finished at 391, giving them a 27 runs lead over India first-innings total of 364.
Root faced 320 balls, with 18 fours, before James Anderson was bowled by Mohammed Shami off the last ball of the third day’s play.
Root’s series
Root came into the Test with innings of 64 and 109 in the first Test.
He had been the only England batsman to pass fifty in last week’s rain-marred drawn first Test.
Thankfully, for England, Root got some support from Jonny Bairstow.
Root and Bairstow combined for a fourth-wicket partnership of 121 before the latter threw away his wicket while on 57.
Root took a quick single off Jasprit Bumrah which took him to a 200-ball hundred, his fourth in Tests at Lord’s.
This was Root’s fifth Test century this year and 22nd overall.
He had scores of 228 and 186 in Sri Lanka and 218 against India in Chennai before the 1st Test in Nottingham.
Root now stands alongside Walter Hammond, Colin Cowdrey, Geoffrey Boycott and Ian Bell with 22 centuries.
Only Kevin Pietersen (23) and Alastair Cook (33) having scored more Test centuries for England.
How the day progressed
England resumed on 119-3, a deficit of 245.
Bairstow and Root batted with purpose to take the score to 216-3 by lunch.
Root square-drove Siraj for a stylish four to complete an 82-ball fifty.
Bairstow, six not out overnight, struck brilliant straight-driven fours off Shami and Siraj as he compiled a 90-ball fifty.
However, just before the new ball, Bairstow fell, trying to hook a short-pitched ball from Siraj and ended up gloving it to Kohli in the slips.
Recalled paceman Ishant Sharma checked England’s progress with three vital wickets.
He bowled Jos Buttler with an excellent in-swinger.
He also had Moeen Ali and Sam Curran caught in the slips off successive deliveries and finished with an impressive 3-69 in 24 overs.
There was some drama towards the end as No 11 Anderson was hit on the helmet by a Bumrah bouncer.
Just after his dismissal, he appeared to have a heated exchange of words with Virat Kohli.
The Indians will be hoping that Anderson won’t be too pumped up, owing to this incident as he could prove a handful on a Day 4 wicket.
The big disappointment for India was the lackadaisical bowling of Ravindra Jadeja.
Jadeja was wicketless, raising questions whether India had erred in dropping Ravichandran Ashwin.
England 391 (Root 180*, Bairstow 57, Siraj 4-94, Ishant 3-69) lead India 364 (Rahul 129, Anderson 5-62) by 27 runs
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Smriti Mandhana and Ellyse Perry star in RCB women’s comeback win against UP Warriorz in WPL 2024
RCB women overcame UP Warriorz by 23 runs to clinch their third win of the season. The home side outperformed Warriorz in all the facets of the game and emerged victorious. A collective team effort, particularly with the bat, helped RCB women to beat Warriorz for the second time in the season. They now have three wins in their five matches in the WPL 2024.
Alyssa Healy won the toss and opted to field first. Given how things have panned out in the league so far, it needed a great batting performance from RCB to challenge the chasing side. The home side did exactly that. They were full of intent which was lacking in the last few games. Right from the start, S Meghana and Smriti Mandhana smashed the bowlers.
It was the night of the RCB skipper. The Southpaw scored 80(50) in her stay. S Meghana perished after a valuable 28(21). Ellyse Perry batted well and registered her first fifty of the WPL 2024. She was aided well towards the end by Richa Ghosh whose 21(10) propelled RCB to a score of 198 on the board. It was the highest team total in the WPL 2024.
Alyssa Healy’s efforts go in vain
Chasing the daunting total, UP Warriorz were off to a flier. The opening duo of Healy and Kiran Navgire gave a fiery start to the visiting side. When the two were batting in the PP overs, it seemed like the Warriorz could pull off an insane chase. However, Sophie Devine brought RCB back into the game with crucial wickets. At Bengaluru, the home crowd was literally behind the RCB women.
It helped the home side to stay calm and do their job with ease. Sophie Molineux and Asha Sobhana were the pick of the bowlers, who claimed 2/29 each in their spell of four overs. While Healy scored a fifty and Deepti tried her best in the death overs, ten daunting targets could not be chased down. Despite the early hiccups, RCB managed to restrict UP Warriorz to a score of 175 and won by 23 runs.
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WATCH: Ellyse Perry in disbelief as her six breaks car’s window
Ellyse Perry smashed a six in the match against UP Warriorz in the WPL 2024. It was an interesting six as the ball travelled towards the boundary ropes and fell exactly on the window of the car. As a result, the glass of the window was broken. The car is set to be provided as a reward for the player of the tournament.
It was the over of Deepti Sharma towards the last few moments of RCB’s innings. Before Perry struck, the home side was in a great position in the match, thanks to a great start provided by Smriti Mandhana. The star batter scored 80 (50) and shined in front of the home crowd. Her form helped RCB to have a good momentum towards the death overs.
Watch the viral video here –
ELLYSE PERRY HAS BROKE THE GLASS OF THE CAR…!!! 🤯
– The reaction of Perry was priceless!! pic.twitter.com/zaxiQLLN1r
— Mufaddal Vohra (@mufaddal_vohra) March 4, 2024
Perry, who was struggling till that point, opened up and smashed the bowlers for fun. She went hard against the spinners like Rajeshwari Gayakwad and Deepti Sharma who were asked to bowl at the death. The right-handed batter smashed back-to-back sixes in the over of Sharma. One of those travelled towards the mid-wicket region where the car was stationed. The video of her shot has gone viral on X.
RCB teammates laugh, Ellyse Perry in disbelief
As the ball fell on the car and damaged the window, the fans erupted. There was no end to the joy of the fans who started chanting “Perry.. Perry..” and lit the atmosphere of the stadium. However, Perry was in disbelief. As she saw the impact of the ball damaging the car’s window, the Australian batter could not believe her eyes and thought about what she had just done.
On the other hand, the RCB teammates of Perry were in awe of the shot. They looked at the replays and appreciated the shot of Perry. At the same time, players like Sophie Molineux and Sophie Devine had a laugh about the car’s window getting damaged. Ellyse scored a fifty and helped her team score 198 runs with her batting in front of the home crowd.
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Praveen Kumar addresses Ishan Kishan and Shreyas Iyer’s negligence of taking part in Ranji Trophy
Praveen Kumar has given his opinion on the preferences of Ishan Kishan and Shreyas Iyer in recent times. The duo did not take part in the Ranji Trophy matches for their respective teams despite being fit. It did not go well with the Indian Cricket Board which landed the duo without a ventral contract which was announced a few days back.
Praveen Kumar has reacted to the issue recently. The former India pacer claimed that he has been of an opinion on the issue for a long time. Praveen felt that one should definitely earn money but not at the cost of neglecting to play for domestic and national teams. The right-arm pacer felt that players today are having a certain mentality which is not good.
The former pacer claimed that the players have a mindset that they can rest for a month before taking part in the IPL, thereby bypassing playing for their national team or the domestic teams. Praveen felt that the players could not resist letting go of money which they could earn by taking part in the IPL and other T20 leagues (For foreign players).
‘Ye mentally hota hai, ki mai itne paise kaise chodun’ – Praveen Kumar
“This thing is now firmly in the mind of players. Mai ek mahine pehle rest kar lunga, fir IPL khel lunga. Ye mentally hota hai, ki mai itne paise kaise chodun,” said Praveen in the interview. He claimed that youngsters these days are spoilt and are behind money. The former RCB pacer felt that it is not fair on the part of the young players to neglect the country over the IPL.
Kumar felt that a player needs to maintain a balance between playing for the IPL team and for the country. He felt that money is an important factor, but not at the cost of playing for the national team. “But this is not fair at all. A player needs to balance things. Money is important, but this (giving franchise cricket the priority) is wrong,” said the former Indian bowler in the interview.
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