Root passes Ponting as England dominate India

Emirates Old Trafford, day three of the fifth Rothesay Test.

India 358: Sudharsan 61, Jaiswal 58, Pant 54, Stokes 5-72, Archer 3-73

England 544-7: Root 150, Duckett 94, Crawley 84, Sundar 2-57

England leads by 186 runs.

After day three of the fourth Test at Old Trafford, Joe Root’s masterful 150 gave him a commanding lead over India and placed him in second place on the all-time list of Test run-scorers.

By the age of 31, Root had surpassed legendary South African all-rounder Jacques Kallis and legendary India great Rahul Dravid, and he had previously surpassed former Australia captain Ricky Ponting.

His 38th Test century saw England defeat a poor, depressed India 544-7 at the final whistle, leading by 186 runs.

Root’s most recent success was unreal, having escaped a run-out chance on 22.

After falling for 71 and Harry Brook for three, both to Washington Sundar in quick succession, he shared a stand of 142 with Ben Stokes.

When Stokes retired hurt on 66 with cramp in the evening session and Root, who was struggling with the same issue when he was finally stumped off Ravindra Jadeja shortly after, their relationship was broken.

After dismissing Jamie Smith and Chris Woakes, respectively, after both of them had injured off-field, Stokes came back.

He finished the day with a score of 77 not out, trailing only by 21 against Liam Dawson.

Because whenever either side has been successful, the other has found a way to win back when this series has been so epic. The event came to an end at this point.

Another Root epic provided a nearly perfect day for England, giving them the chance to bat once and claim a victory in the innings.

When Root resumed on 11 and England was 133 points clear of the rest in a strong but not entirely secure position. They were nine in arrears when Brook fell.

Shubman Gill’s odd delay in introducing Sundar and Bumrah’s injury made things work for Root. When the first quick from India twisted his ankle while exiting the dressing room, he was only able to bowl one over with the second new ball.

However, none of that should diminish Root’s genius.

Ponting commented for television when his haul was passed while the Lancashire crowd stridently cheered each of the Yorkshireman’s three milestones.

With 512 runs remaining, Root will now be 2 for 2 to take over Sachin Tendulkar, the highest run-scorer in Test cricket. He will win 25 Tests if his current scoring is what he is currently.

The 34-year-old’s entire career came together in one innings.

He accumulated nudges, drove through the covers, and exquisite reverse sweeps against India’s spin.

After lunch, Pope nicked Sundar in the off-spinner’s second over after he had already batted through the morning session with Root. Root remained unhurt throughout that crucial period despite the fact that Sundar noticed a significant drift away from the right-handers and Brook, who was stumped and beaten on the outside edge.

He needed three overs to get from 98 to 100, but he did it with a flick-to-fine leg when he reached three figures. He slammed Ponting with his trademark point-and-click pass.

When he started to struggle with cramp, batting as well as he has for a significant amount of time, he took some time to get going against Washington and was just breaking free. He hit an extraordinary switch hit for four against Jadeja.

After Smith retired hurt, Smith nicked Bumrah behind, leaving Chris Woakes with a bowler who kept awfully low from Siraj.

India’s tour day was the most challenging.

Jadeja’s throw to the non-striker’s end from the backward point missed and he held his arms out to ask why no fielder had made it to the stumps as a rare Root error in the morning caused a mix-up with Pope.

Pope was also removed from 48. Rishabh Pant’s replacement, wicketkeeper Dhruv Jurel, who was facing debutant Anshul Kamboj, had a difficult chance off an under-edge, but it gave a strong conclusion to the day.

While captain Gill made his most glaring tactical error in his four Tests as captain to date, Kamboj appears to have looked a poor pick despite his medium pace and poor fielding.

It was illogical for him to introduce Sundar before the 69th over despite him dismissing Root at Lord’s in the third Test.

England have batted under Stokes for the longest in the UK, and it showed.

After returning to the attack after being hampered back into the field before tea, Bumrah resumed his attack with a much slower pace. Siraj also continued even though he had earlier pulled up with an ankle problem, which was understandable.

Former England captain Michael Vaughan: “Everyone will make headlines, right? Joe Root,” but today was another example of how Bazball is maturing, especially in the first half when England knew they had to win that first game.