NEW DELHI: India’s pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah had his own script ready for Day 2 of the third Test at Lord’s. With the sun shining bright and the iconic ground buzzing, Bumrah unleashed a fiery spell that rattled England’s batting lineup. He wasted no time in making an impact — in just his second over of the morning, Bumrah sent England captain Ben Stokes packing with an absolute beauty that jagged back in to rattle the stumps. Stokes walked back for 44, visibly stunned by the delivery.But Bumrah wasn’t done yet. In the same spell, he dealt a major blow by removing Joe Root for 104 — just after the former England captain reached his 37th Test hundred with a boundary on the first ball of the day. It was the 11th time in Test cricket that Bumrah had dismissed Root, equaling Pat Cummins for most dismissals of the Englishman in Tests.
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Moments later, more drama unfolded. Bumrah and keeper Dhruv Jurel went up in a confident appeal for a caught behind against Chris Woakes, only for the umpire to turn it down. Bumrah, sure he heard a sound, was caught on the stump mic saying, “Aawaaz aaya hai, aawaaz aaya hai.”
After a quick chat with skipper Shubman Gill, India went for the review. UltraEdge confirmed a spike, and Bumrah had another wicket to his name.Bumrah was denied a hat-trick as Brydon Carse carefully negotiated his delivery.Statistically, Stokes continues to struggle against balls seaming in during home Tests since 2023 — averaging just 22.20 with five dismissals from such deliveries. Against Bumrah in particular, Root averages 28.27 from 11 dismissals off 612 balls — a telling figure in what has become a one-sided duel in recent times.
