London [UK]: England skipper Joe Root scored his second consecutive century of the series as the Indian bowling attack fight their way back in the second session of Day 3 of the ongoing second Test here at the Lord’s Cricket Ground on Saturday. At the tea break, England’s score read 314/5 still trailing the visitors by just 50 runs now. Joe Root (132*) and Moeen Ali (20*) are currently unbeaten at the crease. The second session saw hosts losing their first two wickets of the day in the form of Jonny Bairstow and Jos Buttler. Resuming at 216/3, Indian bowlers showed more intent and consistently pitched the ball on a good length. Just before the new ball was to be taken, the clever work from Mohammed Siraj gave the much-needed breakthrough to the Indian side. Siraj went round the wicket and landed the short pitch ball which Jonny Bairstow couldn’t resist as it took his glove to Virat Kohli. But Root stood firm for the English side, as soon he tipped and run into the offside and completed his 22nd Test century off 200 balls. Later, the England captain completed his 9000 Test runs and became only the second English batsman to get there after Alastair Cook. Indian bowlers very strategically started to trouble the new batsman on the pitch, Jos Buttler and soon their persistence paid off. As the senior pacer, Ishant Sharma got on the board with his first wicket of the match. Buttler tried the big drive to a length-ball inswinger but misses, and Ishant pegged the off stump to send him back to the pavilion. Earlier in the first session of the day, England had a perfect start. Root and Bairstow batted through and looked very comfortable. India tried to probe and probe, but the slowness of the wicket meant that edges weren’t carried. Brief Scores: India 364; England 314/5 (Joe Root 132*, Jonny Bairstow 51, Mohammed Siraj 3-71).
