London [UK], July 12 : Following a gripping day of play at Lord's during the third Test, England batter Joe Root expressed happiness with team's first innings score and also spoke on how the pitch could behave in the coming days.
A fighting half-century from KL Rahul and the return of wicketkeeper-batter Rishabh Pant as a batter following a finger injury were key positives as India ended day two with two more wickets lost during the third Test against Lord's on Friday. At the end of the day's play, India was 145/3, with Pant (19*) and Rahul (53*) unbeaten.
They trail by 242 runs in response to England's first innings 387, made thanks to a century stand between Root (104) and Ollie Pope (44) and a counter-attacking 82-run stand between Brydon Carse and Jamie Smith, who both struck fifties down the order.
Speaking at the post-day presser, "I think it's a good score. I think we will have a better indication when they finish their innings."
"But I do feel generally here the pitch plays best day two, and it is going to be very hot, very dry. It is already very slow."
"It generally goes up and down and offers something later on in the game. So the fact we have got those runs on the board I think is crucial. There were two brilliant partnerships today," he continued.
Root hailed the lower-order stand between Carse and Smith, especially the latter's current form and overall skillset.
Root also said with the ground having a slope, there is something for bowlers even though pitch feels placid and ball gets soft.
"And if the ball does go out of shape and we get a new one a bit harder and a fresher one then we exploit that as well. But I think it's another good day for us," he continued.
Root was happy with the return of express pacer Jofra Archer, saying that it was just nice seeing him play Test cricket again and enjoy his game. He also called the bowler an "X-Factor" player.
"He has shown that when he's played white ball cricket for England, when it is in the IPL, big games he turns up and he does things that other players can't. And you saw that in a short burst today."
"So I do think he is going to play a big part with the rest of the group. And I think one thing that you will say about it is he compliments nicely the rest of the attack. And at different points throughout the game, they are all going to have to work together and play their part in taking these 20 wickets if we are going to win this game," he added.
On the pitch's behavior in days to come, Root said that he doesn't see it getting better and there might be a "little bit of turn" as the game proceeds, for spin bowlers.
"I think it's going to be quite turgid. I think it's going to be quite slow scoring, unless you get someone like Rishabh who comes out and plays a very aggressive style of batting where it takes quite a lot of unorthodox methods. You could see it as a slightly more old-school kind of test match," he added.
Root feels the match is nicely poised and termed skipper Shubman Gill's wicket as a "big one".
"Clearly a player in great form, good player anyway, but in serious form. Really important wicket for us. I think just good thinking, good skill to be able to execute it as well. A great catch, unbelievable catch (by Jamie)," he added.
Resuming the final session at 44/1, Nair (18) and Rahul (13) continued to play positively, with Nair finding a couple of boundaries. The duo reached their 50-run stand in 95 balls.
However, once again, the Karnataka batter, who made his return to Test side after eight years, failed to capitalise on his start, falling to skipper Ben Stokes with a catch from Joe Root at slips.
Nair was gone for 40 in 62 balls, with four boundaries. India was 74/2, with a 61-run stand being undone by the skipper.
Skipper Shubman Gill joined KL at the crease, and the duo took India to the 100-run mark in 29.1 overs, with minimal risks. However, their 33-run partnership was ended by Chris Woakes, as Gill produced a faint edge that reached keeper Jamie Smith's hands. The skipper was gone for 16. India was at 107/3.
To the relief of Indian players and fans alike, Rishabh Pant was next up on the crease and punished Shoaib Bashir with three boundaries within no time, unaffected by his finger injury.
KL continued his fine run in the series, bringing up his second fifty of the series in 97 balls, with five fours.
KL and Rishabh made sure that the team ended the day without any further loss of wickets.
Brief Scores: England: 387 (Joe Root 104, Brydon Carse 56; Jasprit Bumrah 5/74) vs India: 145/3 (KL Rahul 53*, Karun Nair 40; Jofra Archer 1/22).