London, July 10 (IANS) Legendary leg-spinner Anil Kumble believes restricting England to a score below 300 would signify a job well done by the Indian bowling attack on day one of third Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy Test at Lord’s.

At lunch on day one, England reached 83/2 in 25 overs, with Joe Root (24 not out) and Ollie Pope (12 not out) sharing an unbroken 39-run stand after Nitish Kumar Reddy took out openers Ben Duckett and Zak Crawley in quick succession.

“I think both teams will be reasonably happy with how the session unfolded. India might feel they missed a chance to pick up one more wicket, especially after the two early dismissals. What was interesting was that the breakthrough didn’t come from Bumrah, Akash Deep or Siraj — it was Nitish Kumar Reddy who stepped up and delivered not just one, but two crucial wickets.”

“Going forward, slip fielding will be key. The bounce and pace haven’t been consistent — the ball isn’t always carrying through cleanly to the keeper — so India will need to be sharp in the cordon. This is the kind of pitch where you can’t just blast teams out; you need patience. If India can bowl England out for under 300, they’ll consider it a job well done,” said Kumble on JioHotstar.

He also praised Reddy for making a surprise impact with the ball in first session. “It came down to his length and his high-arm action — that’s what made the difference. On this surface, a bowler like Jofra Archer would be very dangerous, and Nitish showed shades of that.”

“The slope here helps take the ball away from the left-hander, and Ben Duckett unfortunately fell victim to that twice. As for the Crawley dismissal — that was a beauty. He got the length and line absolutely right, and it just moved enough off the pitch to find the edge.”

Kumble further reflected on a returning Jasprit Bumrah’s spell in the first session, and pointed out that he was unlucky to not be amongst the wicket-takers.

“He was trying to counter the slope and perhaps trying a bit too hard to get that away movement going. He was getting the shape, especially against the left-handers, but the line wasn’t quite there — it was too wide, giving the batters enough time to leave or adjust.”

“With Bumrah, there’s always pressure because he’s the spearhead. I’m confident that when he returns post-lunch, he’ll be more relaxed, bowl a bit fuller, and target the stumps more. He was unlucky this morning — England could easily have lost a couple of early wickets to both him and Akash Deep.”

Asked on what areas India should focus on to separate Root and Pope in the second session, Kumble stated, “Bumrah has already bowled eight overs in the first session, so managing his workload will be important. The lines and lengths will be key, especially to someone like Ollie Pope. But Joe Root is the real danger. You need to make him play every delivery.”

“Bumrah will try to bring the ball back in and then use the fourth-stump line to draw Root into a false shot. India will need to use Bumrah in short bursts — three to four overs — maybe start the session with him, but make sure the field is set up right. I’d still like to see a gully or a short point in place. Catching positions will be crucial.”

–IANS

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