England were slow but steady in their first innings of the third Test against India at Lord’s. After winning the toss, the hosts posted 251/4 on Day 1 of the Lord’s game, a completely different approach from their attacking brand of cricket. The slow pitch made the batting difficult, and the English batters realised that going for shots could wrap up their innings quickly, so they adopted a cautious style of play.

Joe Root was unbeaten on 99 runs off 191 balls along with captain Ben Stokes. Earlier, Root stitched a 100-plus run partnership with Ollie Pope, who managed 44 off 104. Ravindra Jadeja dismissed him.

Cheteshwar Pujara felt Pope would be disappointed with himself as he had a chance of scoring a big hundred.

“He could have got a big hundred on this wicket. He was batting well and is a quality player. Once he gets going, nobody can stop him,” Pujara said.

Legendary Indian batter also highlighted one area which Ollie needs to work on in red-ball cricket.

“He is a nervous starter. Ollie Pope will have to bat cautiously for the first 45 minutes before playing his strokes. He has to be consistent and contribute more to the total of England in Test cricket,” he added.