Root's unbeaten century guides England to a first-innings lead

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Resuming on 119/3 in bright and sunny conditions, the stage was perfectly set for skipper Joe Root and Jonny Bairstow to build their partnership and get closer to the Indian total. And they did exactly that. Root brought up his 51st Test half-century, continuing his glorious run of form in the year 2021.

Bairstow too looked assured at the crease, bringing up his half-century as well on the brink of lunch. The Indian bowlers toiled away, trying to get the all-important breakthrough, but in vain. The hosts ended in what was a brilliant session for them on 216/3, adding 97 runs to their overnight total.

After the interval, there was a change of strategy from the Indian bowlers. Mohammed Siraj constantly peppered Bairstow (57) with short deliveries and the plan paid dividends as Bairstow's pull came off the glove. He was out after a fine knock of 57 as Siraj celebrated his third scalp.

Root would soon bring up his 22nd Test century, basking in the applause of the Lord's crowd and was looking for a big one, with Jos Buttler joining him at the crease. Root also became only the second England player to score 9000 runs in Test cricket after Alastair Cook.

After a 54-run stand between the pair, India got the much-needed breakthrough though as Ishan Sharma bowled Buttler for 23. Root and Ali ensured that England did not lose any wickets heading into the final session, trailing India by only 50 runs.

Root continued to pile on runs after the break, bringing up his 150 for the 11th time in his career. Just when it looked like the Root-Ali partnership was taking the game away from India, Ishant Sharma struck twice in two balls to first send Ali (27) and then Sam Curran for a first-ball duck to bring some sort of parity to the game.

Siraj finally got an LBW decision in his favour, trapping Ollie Robinson (6) in front of the stumps to claim his fourth wicket of the innings. Eight overs later, confusion between Root and Mark Wood (5) resulted in a run-out that cost the latter his wicket.

James Anderson (0) survived 16 balls, including a fiery over from Bumrah, but was dismissed off the last ball of the day as Root was left 20 runs short of what would have been his second double hundred at Lord's. The English skipper received enough support from the tailenders to go past India's first innings total by 27 runs.