Joe Root etched his name into the history books after completing 120 runs in the first innings of the fourth Test against India at Old Trafford, Manchester. With this knock, Root surpassed Ricky Ponting’s tally of 13,378 Test runs to become the second-highest run-scorer in the format. During the same innings, he also went past legends Jacques Kallis and Rahul Dravid. The England star now trails only Sachin Tendulkar in the list of all-time leading Test run-scorers.
It was also Root’s 38th Test century. With that, he joined Ponting, Kallis and Mahela Jayawardene for the most centuries at home in Test cricket history. He also holds the record for most centuries for the Three Lions, and in the third Test at Lord’s, he surpassed Dravid for most catches in Test cricket history.
In the same innings, Root also surpassed Ponting in the list of most 50+ scores in Tests. Like many other records, only Tendulkar is ahead of him on the list.
England dominate India with bat
The Indian bowlers couldn’t pose any threat to England on Day 3 of the Test. After Zak Crawley and Ben Duckett’s cracking start, Ollie Pope and Root took over the business and kept the scoreboard ticking. After Pope departed for 71 runs, captain Ben Stokes took over the business and looked flawless in the middle.
However, Gill’s captaincy and injuries also need to be blamed. India were hesitant to bring in spinners early on Day 3, which needs to be studied. Soon after Washington Sundar was introduced, the off-spinner clinched two. So the question arises that why wasn’t he introduced earlier?
On the other hand, soon after the visitors opted for the new ball, Bumrah complained of an injury and soon after that, Mohammed Siraj too walked off the field. Shardul Thakur and Anshul Kamboj were put in spot but they couldn’t pose any threat with the new ball.