‘I’ve run out of superlatives,’ says Jonny Bairstow after Joe Root’s heroics

‘To see him in the form he’s in, it’s awesome,’ says BairstowBatsman warns rest of Test will be ‘challenging’ despite lead

As Jonny Bairstow and Joe Root emerged from the pavilion on Saturday morning to a warm and sunny reception from a capacity Lord’s crowd, they took a moment to count their blessings. “Joe and I said to each other: ‘How good is to be walking out on a Saturday at Lord’s with your best mate?’” Bairstow recalled at stumps on day three. “To have a full crowd, with our family and friends here, was really special. The Lord’s buzz was definitely back.”

England’s buzz was back too, for now at least. They began the day with a mountain to climb but ended it with a slender lead of 27 thanks in large part to Bairstow’s 57 and Root’s gargantuan unbeaten 180 – the England captain’s fifth century in seven months, and one that took him past Graham Gooch into second place in the all-time list of England Test run-scorers. Only Alastair Cook now stands in his way.

Related: Masterful Joe Root hauls England back into contention with India

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