Why Lord’s is on excessive alert: Spot checks, undercover guards for India vs England third Take a look at | Cricket Information – Occasions of India

Enhanced safety measures have been enforced at Lord’s Cricket Floor for the third Take a look at between England and India, which started on Thursday. The protocols embrace random spot checks on spectators and the deployment of undercover personnel, following disruptions in the course of the earlier Ashes sequence and considerations about potential protests at this marquee conflict.The match is predicted to attract the largest crowd at Lord’s because the 2023 Ashes, with tickets offered out for the primary 4 days and roughly 16,000 already bought for Day 5.As a part of the tightened safety, flags and banners are prohibited, and extra safeguards have been launched for gamers within the pavilion. These steps comply with incidents of verbal abuse focused at Australian gamers throughout final yr’s Ashes Take a look at.

One of the crucial alarming breaches got here in the course of the second Ashes Take a look at in 2023, when a Simply Cease Oil protester ran onto the sphere and threw orange paint on the pitch. The protester was swiftly eliminated by England wicketkeeper Jonny Bairstow.ROOT STEADIES ENGLANDOn the sphere, Joe Root’s unbeaten 99 anchored England’s innings on a gradual, grinding first day at Lord’s. The hosts ended Thursday on 251 for 4 after opting to bat first.

Root walked in with England in hassle at 44 for two, after India’s Nitish Kumar Reddy made a sensational begin by eradicating each openers—Ben Duckett and Zak Crawley—in his very first over.In a departure from England’s standard ‘Bazball’ strategy, Root curbed his aggression and led the resistance with a measured knock in his 156th Take a look at look, scoring at a run fee simply above three an over.Captain Ben Stokes, who received the toss beneath sunny skies at Lord’s, was unbeaten on 39 at stumps. He and Root have to date added an unbroken 79-run stand for the fifth wicket, giving England a foothold after early injury.