"There used to be a thing called Bazball, where is it nowadays?" - Aakash Chopra on England's approach on Day 1 of ENG vs IND 2025 3rd Test

Former India player Aakash Chopra has noted that England did not follow the so-called Bazball approach on Day 1 of the third Test of the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy. He highlighted that the hosts scored at an average of just over three runs per over.

England ended Day 1 (Thursday, July 10) at Lord's at 251/4 in their first innings. Ben Stokes and company batted circumspectly throughout the day despite losing only four wickets.

In a video shared on his YouTube channel 'Aakash Chopra,' the former India opener wondered where England's aggressive approach had gone missing.

"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," he said (1:50).

Chopra noted that Joe Root, who too had started batting aggressively in the Bazball era, returned to his conventional approach.

"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," he observed.

Joe Root was unbeaten on a 191-ball 99 at Stumps on Day 1. He struck only nine fours during his innings, and scored his runs mainly through singles and doubles.

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"Now all of them have started saying that they are not mad" - Aakash Chopra on England discarding the Bazball approach

Ben Stokes consumed 102 deliveries for his unbeaten 39 on Day 1 of the Lord's Test. [P/C: Getty]

In the same video, Aakash Chopra noted that the England batters have started saying that they are smart enough not to bat aggressively always.

"Bazball was totally discarded, no matter who the batter was, from No. 1 to Ben Stokes. Now all of them have started saying that they are not mad, that they say they want to win, but can also play for a draw, that's also an option. They know they have to play fast, but they have the option to play slow too," he said (3:10).

To conclude, the cricketer-turned-commentator added that England were forced to bat cautiously, highlighting that the hosts had never played so slowly in the current era.

"Sometimes, when you don't have a good second option, or you aren't playing that well, then you look for those routes, and that's exactly what has happened. Only 250 runs being scored on the first day, it's a rarity in today's day and age. No team plays so slow, and people who talk about Bazball don't play like that at all. However, this time you saw that they were very, very slow," Chopra observed.

England struck only 25 fours and didn't hit a six on Day 1 of the Lord's Test. Ben Duckett (23 off 40), who had a strike rate of 57.50, was the fastest run-scorer on the day.