Ravichandran Ashwin has urged India to bowl England out as quickly as possible to seize control of the match. While experts view the Day 1 scoreline at the 3rd Test between India and England at Lord’s as evenly poised, Ashwin believes the home team holds a slight advantage. England abandoned their aggressive Bazball approach, opting instead for a more cautious and traditional Test batting style. Despite this shift, the Indian bowlers kept England under pressure, adding a new dimension of excitement to the contest.
Ashwin praised England captain Joe Root for his crucial innings, highlighting Root’s consistent performance against India. Root scored a half-century in the second innings at Leeds and continued his strong form in this match, reaching 3,000 runs against India and nearing his eighth Test century at Lord’s. His partnership with captain Ben Stokes, which added 79 runs for the fifth wicket, helped England finish Day 1 at 251/4.
Reflecting on England’s change in strategy, Ashwin remarked that the team surprised everyone by abandoning their usual high-scoring Bazball style in favor of a more measured approach he dubbed “Prankball.” England’s run rate slowed to around three runs per over, a notable departure from their typical 4 to 4.5 runs per over. Ashwin emphasized the importance of Root’s innings, calling it a lesson in classical Test batting and affirming that “Root is back.”
