Over to you, England – the pressure is on batsmen in another enthralling Test

We could start with Joe Root, who made the kind of century we have come to take for granted, and never should. It was his third in consecutive innings at Lord’s, his 37th in Tests, and while not his most fluent it was undoubtedly one of his most accomplished. He also held a prehensile left-handed catch at slip, to dismiss Karun Nair, and establish a world record for fieldsmen – 211 times he has caught the ball. To say Root is easy on the eye is the stuff of cliche, and misleading. He can charm the Bs from the Ts, but charm in cricket, as in life, goes only so far. Root is a man in full possession of gifts that are rarer than rubies. As Harold Pinter wrote of Len Hutton, his bat is part of his nervous system. Long may he reign over us.

He found a noble adversary in Jasprit Bumrah, restored to the Indian XI after sitting out the victory at Edgbaston. There were five wickets for this singular fast bowler, including those of Root and Harry Brook, as he pounced on the second morning like a robber’s dog. It is no hardship to honour Bumrah, although the England batsmen may wish that he were horizontal.

Replying to England’s 387, KL Rahul matched Root with a ­century sculpted from Carrara marble, each incision pure. A hundred runs he made, bang on, before a lazy drive gave Brook his second slip catch of the innings. A mark there for Shoaib Bashir, who was canny enough to offer the flight that provoked the stroke. It felt like it was the first time he has defeated an Indian batsman this summer.

There is batting, and there is batsmanship. In this absorbing match, which has fully engaged the senses of players and spectators, Rahul revealed the art which conceals art. The cricket has not been explosive, until Ravindra Jadeja put his bat to the ball in a familiar manner, but it has been enthralling, and that is ­usually more satisfying.

In their different ways these ­superior craftsmen have outlined the important distinction that separates talent from skill. Plenty of batsmen have talent; fewer have skill, which, as Laurence Olivier used to say, “is much rarer”.

Here were two men displaying a skill that comes from a respect for their talent, and for the talents of those who oppose them. Chapeaux for Root, Rahul, and Bumrah, three cricketers who deserve all the songs we can sing.

And feathers for Jadeja, the old dog, and Jamie Smith, who passed 1,000 Test runs. It seems only ­yesterday when he was taking guard for the first time.

Rahul can make an elegant statement of the straightest defensive shot. He also played the stroke of the match so far when Stokes, who had packed the onside field with six men “in” and “out”, pitched short. Rahul, in full control of his pull, bisected two men either side of square leg, and defeated the boundary patroller. It was geometry worthy of Archimedes.

The England captain was avenged, after a fashion, when he threw down the stumps at the non-striker’s end to run out Rishabh Pant from short extra cover on the stroke of lunch. It was a superb effort, and very necessary, as the chubby stumper had 74 runs to his name, and was threatening to add a few more like the Billy Whizz that he is.

England were not unhappy to see the back of Pant, whose injured left index finger has supplied one of the irritating sub-texts of this match. He was “off games”, and suddenly back on them again, batting in his usual position at No 5, and getting regular treatment on his digit.

These delays, allied to suspensions of play for countless ball inspections, the ferrying of water supplies to players affected by the sweltering heat, and – mirabile visu – an invasion by ladybirds on the first afternoon, has made the cricket crawl at summer’s pace. No fewer than 15 overs were lost on the second day, which is inexcusable, whether people are paying £18 for a ticket or £180.

The biggest boon for the home dressing room was the return of Jofra Archer, who removed Yashasvi Jaiswal with his third ball, Brook catching at second slip. After four and a half years out of the team, as misfortune crept over his hill like a battalion of foes, the fast bowler uttered a scream of liberation, and the crowd cheered. A happy moment.

He was fast, exceeding 90mph, and most teams are prepared to indulge a chap like that. The road to a full recovery is long, but at least he has taken a few preliminary steps, which seemed beyond him. It’s a heartening story, though we shouldn’t get too misty-eyed. England have backed him throughout the years of inactivity to the tune of £3 million. It would be nice if he put a few bob back in the kitty.

Zak Crawley, meanwhile, continues his doleful pilgrim’s progress. In his latest masterpiece, which yielded 18 runs, following the pattern of his thoughts was rather like tracing the flight of those agitated ladybirds.

Opening the innings in Test cricket requires the technical ­virtues expressed so clearly by Rahul. Crawley, ever the free spirit, opted to delight his admirers with a highly personal interpretation of Strip The Willow, charging down the pitch to find somebody, anybody, who would link arms. He got a good ball, as he did at Leeds, but opening batsmen often do. That is the nature of Test cricket.

As the shadows lengthened, India matched England’s 387 all out, helped by Smith taking a smart legside catch to end Jadeja’s valuable innings. The loss of Pant immediately before lunch, and Rahul in the second over after the break, proved to be a less important joint departure than England had hoped. The balance is even. England lead by two runs, and India have the better bowlers.

Photograph by Ben Stansall/AFP via Getty Images