Joe Root broke Ricky Ponting and Jacques Kallis' record for most 50+ scores in Test cricket. With his fifty in the fourth Test against India, Root surpassed the former Australia captain and the South Africa international. He now has 104 half-centuries in the longest format of the game, second most in Test cricket history. Only Sachin Tendulkar is ahead of Root at the moment. He hit a 119 50+ score in the format.
Most 50-plus scores in Test cricket
| Player | 50+ scores |
| Sachin Tendulkar | 119 |
| Joe Root | 104 |
| Ricky Ponting | 103 |
| Jacques Kallis | 103 |
| Rahul Dravid | 99 |
Notably, India desperately needed to pick wickets to stop England’s juggernaut with the bat in the fourth Test. Ben Duckett and Zak Crawley handed the hosts a perfect start after India posted 358 runs on the board in the first innings. Duckett and Crawley made 94 and 84 runs, respectively, before Ollie Pope and Root took over the business.
What happened in first session of Day 3?
The Indian bowlers struggled throughout in the first session of Day 3. None of them could pose any threat as England batters made things look extremely simple in the middle. An opportunity arose for the Shubman Gill-led side but they failed to capitalise on it. Notably, there was a miscommunication between Root and Pope while running a single, but Ravindra Jadeja failed to hit the stumps and there were no players close to the stumps to collect and dismiss the former England captain.
Apart from that, India’s strategy also needs to be questioned. They introduced spin late and, most importantly, didn’t hand Bumrah the bowl from the end that kept the balls low. The commentators on air weren’t happy with the decision as well, but India seem not to have learned. Meanwhile, both Pope and Root completed a half-century each as England are trailing by only 26 runs until Lunch on Day 3.
