INDIA vs ENG 1st Test highlights: Root's double ton guides ENG to 555/8
England ended the day two at an intimidating 555 for eight, built around Root's 218 that was result of a near nine-hour effort in which he faced 377 balls.
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Joe Root. Photo: @ICC
Skipper Joe Root continued to torment the Indian spinners with a majestic double century that placed England in a commanding position and scuttled home team's chances of enforcing a favourable result in the first Test at The Chepauk Stadium, Chennai on Saturday.
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England ended the day two at an intimidating 555 for eight, built around Root's 218 that was result of a near nine-hour effort in which he faced 377 balls.
1st Test Day 2: India vs England highlights
Root became the first cricketer to score a double hundred in his 100th Test but more importantly it was an innings that will be archived for future generations as a ready reference on how to play spin on Indian pitches.
The pace of his innings on the second day was a bit in contrast to how he played on the first day when he was the enforcer and Dom Sibley the grafter.
On the second morning, it was Ben Stokes who entered the stage and made it his own with big hitting. He smashed 82 off 118 balls with 10 fours and three sixes and let Root rotate the strike in their 124-run stand.
Stokes though was in awe of Root's batting style, especially the way he countered the spinners.
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"It makes us all feel, you know, pretty rubbish (laughs), the way he makes batting looks. I was a quite surprised he run down the wicket and packed a six to bring up a double (century),'Stokes said at the press conference after day's play.
"He is in phenomenal form and just making things look very very easy and the way that he plays spin, well dominates spin, it's incredible to watch.
"I don't think half England batsman ever play spin in the way that he does. He's just got options, he has got an answer for everything that's thrown out and yeah, he's just a delight to watch him at the moment."
England didn't declare after being well past 500 which was like driving home a point and piling on the misery on an Indian team which has now been shaken up on a track where nothing happened for two days.
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While Root will be lauded for sure for his second double hundred in last three Test matches, it was Stokes, whose counter-attack deflated the home team.
He started by coming down and lofting Ravichandran Ashwin over long for a six and then used the giant stride to slog sweep the senior off-spinner for a boundary.
In fact, Ashwin (2/132), who was brilliant over two days, was only a bit rattled when Stokes gave him the charge. Although Root hit Ashwin for two sixes -- the second one bringing up his fifth career double hundred for the England captain -- it was Stokes who gave him and the other spinners a big charge.
Also the only one who played Ishant Sharma with some degree of confidence was Stokes. While Root defended well against the veteran pacer, it was Stokes, whose on-drive and square drive off successive deliveries from the pacer did change his skipper Virat Kohli's facial complexion, which remained grumpy for the most part of the day.
Ishant (2/52) bowled as best as he had in any unfavourable conditions, something that the scoreboard wouldn't perhaps tell.
The veteran of 98 Tests finally got a couple of wickets at the fag end of the day but his performance with old ball on one of the flattest tracks will be remembered for a long time.
The pace never dropped even when he was well past bowling his 20th over as the tattered old ball would consistently tail in.
But Ishant, Ashwin and Jasprit Bumrah (2/81)'s good work was undone once again by rookie Washington Sundar.
And Shahbaz Nadeem (2/167) for all his experience at the domestic level for a decade and half, probably understood that he probably is a bit less-skilled when facing a team full of quality players of spin.
His wickets column would read that he had got Stokes and Root but it was well after they had accomplished what they had set out to do.
Root and Stokes showed how to stay low and try and take the ball below the eye-line. Since the duo couldn't build a lot of pressure from one end, the onus was always on either Ashwin or Ishant or Bumrah to strike and keep the pressure.
Root's strike-rate against pacers was in mid-30s and against spinners, it was in the high 70s, underlining his dominance against Washington and Nadeem.
They gave away easy singles and doubles to Root, who scored 130 runs in singles, doubles and that odd triple apart from hitting 19 boundaries and two sixes.
And not to forget the runs that he had to run for his various batting partners during the course of the England innings.
ICC World Test Championship
The four-match Test series between India and England is also a part of ICC World Test Championship (WTC). New Zealand has already qualified for the ICC WTC final, which is scheduled to take place from June 18-22.
Check ICC Test championship latest news, schedule and points table here
Check India vs England highlights here…
India vs England 1st Test Day 2: ENG 454-4 at Tea
IND vs ENG live score after 147 Overs: 454-4
Rohit Sharma continues and Root hits the first ball towards sweeper cover for a single.
Pope blocks the next three deliveries and collects a single off the 5th.
Rohit bowls the last ball before with Harbhajan's action and Root knocks the low full toss towards long-on for a single. IT IS TEA ON DAY 2
IND vs ENG live score after 146 Overs: 451-4
Nadeem continues and concedes a single each to both the batsmen.
IND vs ENG live score after 145 Overs: 449-4
Rohit Sharma, right-arm off break, comes into the attack and concedes four runs.
IND vs ENG live score after 144 Overs: 445-4
Nadeem continues and concedes five runs.
IND vs ENG live score after 143 Overs: 440-4 | Root hits double century
Ashwin continues...
Root collects a single off the first. Pope gives the strike back to Root, who wallopes the third ball for SIX to reach his 5th Test dounble ton.
IND vs ENG live score after 142 Overs: 431-4
Shahbaz Nadeem [32.0-3-130-1] is back into the attack and concedes three runs.
IND vs ENG live score after 141 Overs: 428-4
Ashwin continues and concedes four singles.
IND vs ENG live score after 140 Overs: 424-4
Sundar continues and leaks eight runs, including a boundary to Root, who moves to 190s.
IND vs ENG live score after 139 Overs: 416-4
Ashwin continues and Root collects a single off the first ball.
Pope blocks the next four deliveries and tries to sweep the last ball but misses. There is loud appeal of catch but umpire remains unmoved. Kohli takes Review, NO bat involved. India lost all its REVIEW now.
IND vs ENG live score after 138 Overs: 415-4
Washington Sundar continues and concedes five runs, including a boundary to Pope.
IND vs ENG live score after 137 Overs: 410-4
Ashwin coninues and concedes six runs, including a FOUR off the NO BALL.
IND vs ENG live score after 136 Overs: 404-4
Sundar continues and bowls a MAIDEN over Pope.
IND vs ENG live score after 135 Overs: 404-4
Ashwin continues and concedes a single to Ollie Pope.
IND vs ENG live score after 134 Overs: 403-4
Washington Sundar [15.0-0-65-0] is back into the attack and concedes a single each to both the batsmen.
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First Published: Feb 06 2021 | 8:24 AM IST
