Former Indian cricket team batter Aakash Chopra took a brutal dig at Ben Stokes and Co after England scored just 251 runs on Day 1 of the third Test match against India at Lord's. England have made a name for themselves with the aggressive 'Bazball' style of play but on Thursday, they decided to chose caution their run rate was just 3.02. It was the slowest for England since Brendon McCullum took over as head coach back in 2022. During his analysis on YouTube, Chopra taunted England by asking where Bazball was and even said that it has gone missing at St John's Wood.
“Where is the Bazball, sir? There used to be a thing called Bazball, where is it nowadays? It's being said that it's lost somewhere in St John's Wood, because you played the entire day and scored only 250 runs."
Joe Root was also not spared by the ex-India star who pointed out that England batter slammed a fifty in 157 balls - the slowest half-century by him in the Bazball era.
“This was Joe Root's slowest half-century in the Bazball era. Ever since the era started, he had started hitting, and many times we asked the question why he was in such a hurry. Let others play as they want, but Joe Root is like the root of a tree. So, he too realized that he hadn't scored runs in the first two matches and that he would bat respectfully now," Chopra added.
Meanwhile, England skipper Ben Stokes seemingly struggled with an apparent groin injury during Day 1 of the Lord's Test on Thursday. He was seen limping around the pitch while he navigated his way to an unbeaten 39 at Stumps.
England vice-captain Ollie Pope has his ‘fingers crossed' and is hoping for a magical recovery for the all-rounder, given the importance of the third Test, with the series tied at one-a-piece.
“Fingers crossed he can do something magic and come back strong. Clearly we've got a big Test over the next four days and a big two coming up. It's important to try to manage him.
"One of my roles is to make sure he doesn't push himself to a ridiculous place. I'm sure the physios and medics will work with him to lay out a plan and I'll help push him in the right direction,” said Pope in the post-day press conference.
(With IANS inputs)