Tea, day three: England 433-4 (Root 121, Stokes 36) lead India 358 by 75 runs
Joe Root spent most of Friday afternoon doing what he does best – collecting runs almost unnoticed until the record books shout for attention. His unbeaten 121, patient rather than flashy, has nudged England 75 ahead and left India chasing momentum as well as the scoreboard.
Milestones surfaced quietly. The single that took Root to 31 moved him past Rahul Dravid and Jacques Kallis on the all-time Test run list. A late dab to third slipped him beyond Ricky Ponting. The former Australia captain, working for Sky, simply laughed: “He just keeps churning them out, doesn’t he?” Root answered with a thumb-raised nod towards Ben Stokes, his current partner in an unbroken stand worth 84.
The hundred, his 12th against India and 38th overall, arrived with a tickle off his hip – boundary number 12 – equalling Kumar Sangakkara’s career tally of centuries. Steve Smith is now alone behind him in that particular India chart.
Earlier, Root and Ollie Pope added 144, consolidating after England resumed on 249-2. Pope fell seven balls after lunch, fencing Washington Sundar to slip for 78; Harry Brook lasted only four overs before the same bowler lured him down the pitch and had him stumped. Two wickets in quick time gave India a sniff, yet the rest of the session belonged to Root’s soft hands and England’s relentless scampering.
India’s fielding rhythm never quite recovered. A muddled run-out attempt on Root 22 proved costly; when the Yorkshireman was 98, an inside edge looped past leg stump rather than on to it. Worse followed: Jasprit Bumrah managed just one over with the second new ball before hobbling off, while Mohammed Siraj also left the field shortly before tea. Acting captain Shubman Gill, light on bowling options, wore the look of a man counting overs rather than plotting dismissals.
Conditions remain good for batting, yet England’s pace trio will relish an ageing pitch offering occasional variable bounce. Former opener Mark Butcher observed on BBC radio: “Anything close to parity would have pleased India this morning; now they’re under real pressure.”
Stokes has licence to accelerate after the interval; Root, already second only to Sachin Tendulkar, shows no sign of stopping. A lead beyond 150 would leave India, short of fast-bowling firepower and facing a deteriorating surface, with considerable work just to stay in the match.
