ENG vs IND | Joe Root special powers England to dominant position at Old Trafford

‌Joe Root headlined England’s domination with a big hundred on day three of the fourth Test against India at Old Trafford in Manchester. The hosts finished at 544/7, leading India by 186 runs, on the back of Joe Root’s patient and gritty 150 while Ben Stokes was still unbeaten at the crease with a knock of 77.

Starting the day at 225/2, England progressed comfortably with Joe Root and Ollie Pope looking at ease against the visitors. Root welcomed Jasprit Bumrah into the attack with a four off his first ball of the day, while Mohammed Siraj gave away two fours in the next over. India had a chance to send the veteran batter when he was on 22, but could not take advantage of a horrendous mix-up with Ravindra Jadeja’s throw, finding no takers at the bowling end. From then on, the pair dug in and kept the visitors out of the game, with Root going past Rahul Dravid and Jacques Kallis to become third in the list of highest run-scorers in Test cricket. Pope was the first to reach fifty, off 93 balls, in the 64th over, with Root also getting to his half-century five overs later. The pair batted steadily, accumulating 107 runs without losing a wicket in the first session as England ended at 332/2, just 26 runs short of India’s total.

The next session saw India bounce back with Washington Sundar’s double strike early on. The off-spinner first dismissed Ollie Pope, who hit seven fours during his knock of 71, with KL Rahul once again completing a low catch at slips. He then outfoxed a charging Harry Brook with a straighter delivery as Dhruv Jurel flashed the bails off. But captain Ben Stokes joined Root to steady the England ship yet again to take the side past the Indian total. The all-rounder was slow off the blocks, making seven runs off the first 30 balls before slowly getting into the groove. Meanwhile, Root scored his second consecutive century, his 38th in Test cricket, with a leg-glanced boundary off Anshul Kamboj. And on the stroke of tea, Root overtook Ponting to be second behind Sachin Tendulkar for most runs in Tests, with his side placed at 433/4.

The pair continued to frustrate the visitors with Stokes complementing his five-fer with a gritty half-century. The southpaw showed some urgency after going past his fifty with three fours before a hamstring strain forced him to retire his innings halfway. Root completed his 150 in the 119th over with Ravindra Jadeja ending his marathon stay of 248 balls at the crease in the next over. Soon, Jamie Smith also returned as he became Jasprit Bumrah’s first wicket in the match after edging to keeper Dhruv Jurel. Stokes was forced to make his way back into the middle after Jamie Smith and Chris Woakes departed in quick time. He was unbeaten on xxx with Liam Dawson for company. For India, the spin duo of Ravindra Jadeja and Washington Sundar had two wickets each.