Tempers frayed at Lord’s minutes after Joe Root reached his 37th Test century, as Mohammed Siraj’s morning was marred first by a missed chance and then by a delay in play that left the pacer visibly exasperated.
In the opening session of Day 2, Siraj had Jamie Smith edging a delivery that nipped away after pitching on a back of a length. The edge flew at a comfortable height to KL Rahul at second slip, but what should’ve been a routine catch went begging. Rahul reached out to his side with both hands, but the ball burst through his fingertips. Siraj could only stand mid-pitch in disbelief as the opportunity went down.
Adding fuel to his frustration, Siraj was then interrupted not once but twice by Joe Root before the next delivery. The first delay came due to a sight-screen issue that briefly held up play. Just as that was resolved and Siraj began his run-up, Root pulled away again, this time to seemingly pick up some debris on the pitch.
Siraj, already wound up by the dropped catch, was forced to stop in his tracks mid-run and was left standing awkwardly at the top of his mark. This time, he didn’t hold back, muttering “take your time” towards Root with unmistakable sarcasm.
The outburst came in the immediate aftermath of Root’s landmark hundred, a gritty, grinding effort that defined England’s approach on Day 1. On a dry, sun-baked surface, Root batted through the entire opening day for an unbeaten 99, eventually converting it into a century early on Friday. It was a vintage innings, not flashy, not Bazball, but resolute.
Root’s knock was especially significant after two underwhelming Tests. With Stokes battling a groin or adductor issue and unable to push for a second run in the final over of Day 1 that would have given Root his century then, the moment finally came a day later.
Root falls early
Shortly after the incident, however, Root fell on 104 as Jasprit Bumrah dismissed the English batter for the 11th time in Test cricket. Angling the delivery into the right-hander, Bumrah found a thick inside-edge ricocheting at the stumps, ending Root’s gritty knock.
Bumrah picked another on the very next ball, removing Chris Woakes for a duck.