London, July 10 -- A magnificent innings from Joe Root and his partnerships with Ollie Pope and skipper Ben Stokes helped England dominate the first day of play against India in the third Test at Lord's on Thursday.

At the end of the day's play following the third session, England was 251/4, with Root (99*) and skipper Stokes (39*) unbeaten. After a balanced first session, which saw Nitish Kumar Reddy strike twice, England largely dominated the next two with more traditional Test cricket as compared to their attacking 'Bazball' cricket, despite strikes from Ravindra Jadeja and Jasprit Bumrah.

England started the final session at 153/2, with Root (54*) and Ollie Pope (44*) unbeaten.

Ravindra Jadeja finally broke the 109-run stand, strik...