New Delhi, July 13 (IANS) Former England batter Jonathan Trott feels that the partnership between Joe Root and skipper Ben Stokes for the fifth wicket will be vital for the home side to recover from early blows in their second innings against India at Lord’s.

England had a bumpy start to their morning session after losing four wickets in the opening session on the penultimate day of the match. Mohammed Siraj provided the first breakthrough of the match with the scalp of opener Ben Duckett, followed by the dismissal of Ollie Pope. All-rounder Nitish Kumar Reddy and Akash Deep also bagged one wicket each to press their authority in the match after the first innings ended in a stalemate.

However, the only positive for the home side was the partnership between senior duo Root and Stokes that dragged them to 98/4 at lunch. The veteran batters continued to navigate through a tricky spell, with the bounce showing unpredictably, and have taken England to the 150 mark post lunch.

“I’m not sure England will fully know where they stand right now. They’ll want to see how the ball behaves from overs 30 to 50 – how the pitch responds as the ball ages. The Root-Stokes partnership is key. But England will feel they let themselves down,” Trott said on JioHotstar.

The veteran further criticised English batters for their poor shot selection that cost them in the first session.

“On this pitch, you’ve got to tighten your scoring zones and be more watchful. Three of the dismissals came from loose strokes – playing shots to balls that just weren’t there,” the former cricketer said.

India looked aggressive in their approach on Sunday, building on the last-over bust-up that headlined day three’s play at Lord’s. India captain Shubman Gill was at his aggressive best to confront Crawley for wasting time for faking an injury after being hit on the glove by Jasprit Bumrah at the stroke of stumps.

The incident quickly turned into a fiery atmosphere with Gill pointing his finger towards Crawley and warning him of his time-wasting tactics which didn’t allow India to bowl the second over before the end of day’s play.

–IANS

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