[Watch] Joe Root gets Travis Head and Cameron Green in the same over late on Day 1 of Lord's Test
England ace batter Joe Root picked up two crucial wickets with his off-spin as Australia were running away with the game on day one of the first Ashes Test at Lord's. The Yorkshire cricketer broke a quick-fire partnership between Travis Head and Steve Smith by dismissing the former, followed by dismissing Cameron Green for a duck.
The dismissal occurred in the 74th over of the innings as Ben Stokes called on Root after running out of ideas. The 32-year-old spun the ball past Head, who came down the track to go down the ground as Jonny Bairstow stumped him. Green, meanwhile, looked to pull, but got it high on the bat as James Anderson took a simple catch at mid-on.
down! Joe Root strikes twice in an over and Australia are 5️⃣ down!
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Australia lost the toss and were sent in to bat by England under overcast conditions. The tourists had a solid start as Usman Khawaja and David Warner put on a 73-run opening stand before the former perished. Warner reached his fifty with a six off Josh Tongue.
Smith and Marnus Labuschagne combined for a century partnership before Ollie Robinson removed the latter for 47. However, Head counterattacked to bring another hundred partnership off 104 deliveries. The partnership was 118 until Joe Root's off-spin broke through out of nowhere.
Joe Root to have a big role with the bat in England's innings
After picking up two scalps already, the 32-year-old will be raring to go at Australia with the bat. The right-hander set the tone with two smooth innings at Edgbaston. The former England captain struck an unbeaten 118 in the first innings, followed by a brisk 46 in the second.
reasons to LOVE this man!
| @IGcom💯 reasons to LOVE this man!
A gorgeous hundred, Rooty ❤️
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Nevertheless, Australia took a 1-0 lead at Edgbaston after winning the game by two wickets. Chasing a stiff 281, the tourists slipped to 227-8 at one stage. However, Pat Cummins and Nathan Lyon held their nerves to script a famous victory for the tourists with their 55-run partnership.