NOTTINGHAM: England captain Joe Root was left eyeing a hundred as wickets fell around him to leave the first Test against India at Trent Bridge intriguingly poised at tea on Saturday’s fourth day.

England were 235-5 in their second innings, a lead of 140 runs.

Root was 96 not out, having top-scored with 64 in England’s meagre first innings 183.

Jos Buttler, the last of England’s recognised batsmen, was unbeaten on 15 after avoiding a pair.

Frustratingly for England, Dom Sibley, Jonny Bairstow and Dan Lawrence all got to 25 before they each played a major part in their own dismissal — for all the excellence of India’s attack.

England resumed Saturday on 25 without loss, 70 runs adrift of India’s first innings 278.

After three rain-marred days, play started beneath sunny blue skies, with Rory Burns 11 not out and Sibley unbeaten on nine.

There was little left-hander Burns could do with a brilliant Mohammed Siraj delivery that seamed late to have him caught behind for 18.

Jasprit Bumrah prolonged Zak Crawley’s run of low scores when, he squared up the batsman, with wicketkeeper Rishabh Pant holding a fine diving catch low to his right.

Crawley’s exit for six meant he had scored just 156 runs in 14 Test innings since his 267 against Pakistan at Southampton last year.

Root, at 46-2, once more walked out to bat with England in trouble.

He had made nine when he nicked another good delivery from Bumrah just short of India captain Virat Kohli at first slip.

Root, however, showed his class with two boundaries in four balls off Siraj — a textbook cover-drive followed by a clip through midwicket.

England’s best batsman completed a 68-ball fifty by deliberately uppercutting Mohammed Shami over the slips for his eighth four.

England were 119-2 at lunch, with Sibley 27 not out and Root 56 not out.

But a third wicket partnership eventually worth 89 ended in tame fashion when Sibley — whose 28 took a laborious 133 balls -- drove loosely at Bumrah and was brilliantly caught, two-handed, by a diving Pant off the inside edge.

England were now 135-3, with Bairstow walking out into a more gloomy middle, lit up by the floodlights that favoured India’s quicks.

Bairstow, however, was largely untroubled until, on 30, he gave his wicket away by pulling a short ball from Siraj straight to deep square leg.

Root almost fell in similar fashion to Yorkshire team-mate Bairstow but his pull off Shami dropped just short of Jadeja.

Lawrence avoided a pair and repeatedly punished India for straying onto his pads only to play round a straight ball from Shardul Thakur to be lbw for 25.

England squandered a review trying to overturn a decision that clearly looked out and were still 211-5.

Buttler, one of a quartet of England first-innings ducks, got off the mark by flicking Bumrah off his pads and two balls later stylishly cover-drove him for another boundary.

Scoreboard

ENGLAND (1st Innings) 183 (J.E. Root 64; J.J. Bumrah 4-46, Mohammed Shami 3-28).

INDIA (1st Innings) 278 (K.L. Rahul 84, R.A. Jadeja 56, O.E. Robinson 5-85, J.M. Anderson 4-54).

ENGLAND (2nd Innings, overnight 25-0):

R.J. Burns c Pant b Siraj 18

D.P. Sibley c Pant b Bumrah 28

Z. Crawley c Pant b Bumrah 6

J.E. Root not out 96

J.M. Bairstow c Jadeja b Siraj 30

D.W. Lawrence lbw b Thakur 25

J.S. Buttler not out 15

EXTRAS (B-5, LB-2, W-1, NB-9) 17

TOTAL (for five wkts, 70 overs) 235

FALL OF WKTS: 1-37, 2-45, 3-135, 4-177, 5-211.

BOWLING (to-date): Bumrah 16-2-55-2 (6nb, 1w); Mohammed Siraj 20-2-69-2 (1nb); Mohammed Shami 13-1-50-0; Thakur 10-1-23-1 (1nb); Jadeja 11-3-31-0 (1nb).

Published in Dawn, August 8th, 2021