England captain Joe Root has made an unbeaten 180 out of England’s total of 391, with his side now leading India by 27 after day three of the second Test.
England captain Joe Root has reeled off his fifth century of the year at Lord’s, standing head and shoulders above his teammates and changing the face of the second Test against India.
After his match-saving hundred at Trent Bridge last week, Root went big again at the home of cricket on Saturday, going undefeated through the entire third day to finish on 180 not out.
England reached 391 all out on the back of his stunning effort, enough for a lead of 27 that had looked fanciful after India dominated the first day.
Since turning 30 in December, Root has been in extraordinary form, with knocks of 228 and 186 on the turning tracks of Galle, 218 against India in Chennai and 109 under serious pressure in the rain-affected draw at Nottingham.
Among Englishmen, only Denis Compton and Michael Vaughan have scored more hundreds in a calendar year.
With three more Tests remaining this summer, his current purple patch, which has now seen him take his Test average back above 50 again, suggests he could join them on six sooner rather than later.
Root resumed on his overnight score of 48 and added another 132 in the next six and a half hours at the crease.
Control was the hallmark of Root’s innings, absorbing everything India threw at him on a serene surface and collecting 18 boundaries in the course of a 321-ball epic.
(Photo by Stu Forster/Getty Images)
Root and fellow Yorkshireman Jonny Bairstow resumed with the score at 3-119 and batted all the way through to lunch, scoring 97 chanceless runs in 28 overs.
Bairstow followed Root’s lead to reach a first fifty in two years and 20 innings.
India used Mohammed Siraj as a battering ram at the start of the afternoon session, a ploy that did nothing to ruffle Root’s feathers but unsettled Bairstow.
After ducking into one bouncer and wearing it on the shoulder, he was undone by another, swivelling into a hook but gloving gently to slip for 57.
Root was laser-focused on reaching his hundred and even the arrival of the second new ball did not break his concentration. A sharp piece of fielding on the rope left him on 99 but he had enough to composure to drop Jasprit Bumrah into the offside and nod Jos Buttler through for the single he needed.
Lord’s rose to fete a familiar hero and did so again a few moments later as a flick to fine leg took him past 9,000 Test runs – the second youngest batsman to reach the mark after his predecessor Sir Alastair Cook.
Root coasted through stands of 54 and 58 with Buttler and Moeen Ali, who both hit a couple of pleasing strokes before getting stuck.
Ishant exploited a big gap between Buttler’s bat and pad to bowl him for 23, while Moeen managed an entertaining flurry before tea only to retreat entirely after the break.
Ishant eventually snared his outside edge for 27 and condemned another left-handed all-rounder, Sam Curran, to a first-ball duck.
Root had the satisfaction of overtaking the Indian total when he whipped yet another four off his pads just before 6pm, but was partly responsible for Mark Wood’s run-out moments later.
With James Anderson in place as his eighth partner of the day, Root produced some late fireworks – ramping Siraj outrageously over the slips then stooping to slog-sweep him over midwicket.
Anderson was bowled off the last delivery of the day, leaving Root still unbeaten.
Homer Gain
Guest
Wasn't the coaches, it was the agents. Made a great start to his test career. An Englishman with Indian parents, he was seen as an ideal type to cash in on the IPL. "Of course you'll need to change your batting style" they told the lad who had been christened "Baby Boycott". He tried. His technique disintegrated and, not surprisingly, so, for a while, did his cricketing brain. Great to see him back. Anyone can miss a straight one now and again (I've missed enough to make a Roman road network). Let's hope he puts that behind him and fulfils his potential.
Micko
Roar Rookie
Ripper win yesterday! :thumbup:
Micko
Roar Rookie
Sounds kind of similar to Tim Paine! :unhappy:
Ian
Roar Rookie
He looked a really exciting prospect in his first test matches but badly broke a finger and had a long break away from the game.On his return the coaches got their hooks into him and just about completely changed his game resulting in him almost giving the game away.How many times have we heard that? For his sake,I just hope he backs himself and tells the coaches where to go.
Ian
Roar Rookie
I think India might regret not picking Ashwin.He's a handful most days but on a 5th day Lords wicket,he could have been a match winner.
Micko
Roar Rookie
I was pretty stoked to find the Windies vs Pakis test series on Kayo last night. Didn't realise they had the rights! :thumbup: :happy: :cricket:
Paul
Roar Guru
I bloody hope not!!! :happy:
DaveJ
Roar Rookie
Root mighty impressive but from what I saw the pitch was pretty flat in great contrast to day one. Rahul a HD Sharma played extremely well but it was one of the days where the ball moved off the seam so much you needed a big rub of the green to survive.
JGK
Roar Guru
He’s got a few tests left this year too. He could be the first to score 2000 runs in a calendar year.
Jeff
Roar Rookie
Not for long
Micko
Roar Rookie
Moeen Ali can score at a good clip too.
Paul
Roar Guru
This calendar year in Tests. Root scored 2 tons in Sri Lanka, another in India and now the two at home. Makes his numbers look (dare I say it) Bradmanesque! :happy:
Paul
Roar Guru
The way Hameed was talked up before this match, it was almost like the prodigal son returns. I gather he had serious potential before injury cruelled his career, so hopefully he can turn these numbers around. I guess the other reason he was slotted in at 3 was because Crawley just isn't cutting it. His FC numbers aren't flash either, only averaging 30 with the bat.
Jeff
Roar Rookie
Is that for this FC season? Or this calendar year Tests ?
Jeff
Roar Rookie
And the chances are Sibley, Burns and Hameed will be back in the sheds for not many, but if they can all make some runs, it will take them a decent chunk of time. Just checked out Hameed’s FC SR. 76 matches @ 38. And a woeful average of 33 too. Have to wonder what got him into the Test #3 spot.
Paul
Roar Guru
I saw some interesting numbers from the BBC website Runs Ave Centuries Joe Root 1,244 69.11 5 Rory Burns 364 33.00 1 Dom Sibley 356 20.94 0 Dan Lawrence 354 27.23 0 Jonny Bairstow 283 28.30 0 Somehow England has to find some guys to provide better support for Root. If they can, it could well be "game on" in the Ashes.
Paul
Roar Guru
The other problem in chasing a total is how early Root is forced to bat. In an ideal world, he comes in when the ball's 30 plus overs old and England has well over 50 on the board, but in the series so far, he's had to come in early with not many runs. Not a problem if time is no issue but if he's in a genuine run chase, he needs the top 3 to help him out so the 3 you named can do what they do best - hit.
Jeff
Roar Rookie
It’s probably the middle order - Root, Bairstow, Buttler - that has the capability to push along at a decent rate. Problem for England is they lost their last 5-50 in yesterday’s final session.
badmanners
Roar Rookie
England have some guys there who can score quickly and by reports the pitch isn't doing much, so Kohli will be wary of being generous. On the other hand, Root sent them in so to justify that you'd think he'd be looking to push for a win. He needs his other bowlers besides Jimmy to step up.
Jeff
Roar Rookie
Nicely set up. India is going to have to get themselves dismissed cheaply to have enough time to bowl England out if they want the win. Kohli won’t set up a sporting declaration. 3RPO during the match so far, so if India bat 3 and a half sessions, they’ll be setting England a target of about 270-300 off around 80 overs. If India is dismissed at stumps, England will be after 230-260 on the last day.