Joe Root prolonged his dominance over India with one more masterclass, notching up his twelfth Test century towards them within the fourth Test at Old Trafford. The hundred, studded with 12 fours and no sixes, reaffirmed his standing as India’s final nemesis within the longest format.While he reached his century in fashion, 20 runs later, he jumped to second within the listing of gamers with most runs within the longest format. In a landmark innings, England’s Root now holds second spot within the elite listing, and solely has the legendary Sachin Tendulkar in entrance of him.The Indian legend, in 329 innings over 200 managed an inimitable 15921 runs. But for Root, the climb continued as he leapfrogged Ricky Ponting, who earlier had 2nd spot with 13378. Root, within the third Day of the 4th Test, has now gone past the Australian legend and former skipper.Additionally, Root was congratulated by Ricky Ponting on comms, saying ,”With the way he’s been playing for the last five years, there’s no reason he shouldn’t break Sachin Tendulkar’s record.” With this ton, Root surpassed Australia’s Steve Smith, who beforehand held the report towards India with 11 tons in Tests. This was additionally Root’s ninth century towards India in house situations, which is the most by any batter towards a single opponent on house soil. He broke Australia legend Don Bradman’s lengthy-standing report of eight tons at house towards England. The 33-12 months-previous continued rewriting the report books all through his innings. He equalled the report for most Test lots of in house situations (23), becoming a member of Ricky Ponting, Jacques Kallis, and Mahela Jayawardene. Earlier within the match, Root additionally overtook Rahul Dravid (13,288) and Jacques Kallis (13,289) to maneuver into third place on the all-time Test run-scoring chart. With this knock, he now trails solely Sachin Tendulkar. Root additionally turned the primary batter to finish 1000 Test runs at Old Trafford and simply the third Englishman after Alastair Cook and Graham Gooch to attain 1000-plus runs at two venues, having already amassed over 2000 runs at Lord’s. Former Australia captain Ricky Ponting, talking on Sky Sports Cricket earlier than play, praised Root’s evolution. “How he’s transformed from someone that couldn’t go on past fifty to hundreds — now it seems like every time he gets to fifty, you just mark him down for a hundred,” Ponting stated.
Adding one other layer to his glittering resume, Root additionally moved into second place for most fifty-plus scores in Test cricket, going past Ponting and Kallis. On a flat Day 3 pitch, Root’s fluency made life depressing for India’s bowlers, who struggled to dislodge England’s most dependable Test batter of the period.