India have found themselves in a spot of bother in the third Test against England after the hosts took a substantial 345-run lead in the first innings. English skipper Joe Root scored another impressive century, third in a row and sixth in 2021, as England finished day two’s play at 423-8.
Root made 121 after facing 165 balls with his knock including 14 boundaries. Root has scored six centuries in 2021 including two double hundreds. The English skipper has also scored more than 500 runs in the current series in just three Test matches.
In contrast, the last time his Indian counterpart, Virat Kohli, scored a Test century was in November 2019 against Bangladesh.
Before Root completed his century, Dawid Malan, Haseeb Hameed and Rory Burns completed their fifties. Malan was out for 70, while Hameed and Burns contributed with 68 and 61 respectively.
For India, Mohammad Shami picked up three wickets, while Mohammed Siraj and Ravindra Jadeja shared two wickets each. Jasprit Bumrah had to settle with one wicket. Craig Overton was batting at 24 in 31 balls when the play came to an end on the second day.
228 v Sri Lanka, Galle
186 v Sri Lanka, Galle
218 v India, Chennai
109 v India, Trent Bridge
180* v India, Lord’s
100* v India, HeadingleyA sixth Test hundred in 2021 for Joe Root. No Englishman has ever scored more in a calendar year.
We are witnessing something very special. pic.twitter.com/vbK8vxIXkE
— Wisden (@WisdenCricket) August 26, 2021
Hameed told Sky Sports, “Yesterday was pretty much a perfect day and today we were able to build on that. We are very happy going into tomorrow.
“There’s so much you can learn as a young player from Joe Root. He’s of the highest class but for me, what stands out is the simplicity of his game. He plays like he has so much time, he’s so diligent and also mentally, to turn up and perform in every innings shows how hungry he is.”
India would have an uphill task to save the third Test after trailing England by 345 runs in the second innings. England, on the other hand, have a great opportunity to level the series 1-1 if they manage to secure a win in the Leeds Test.