Leeds, Aug 26: Joe Root stamped his authority over the Indian bowling attack with a third masterful hundred in as many games, putting England in a dominant position on day two of the second Test here on Thursday.
Though India won at Lord’s, they were not able to trouble Root and the England skipper extended his purple patch with his 23rd Test hundred and sixth of the year to take his team to a commanding 423 for eight at stumps on day two.
England now lead by 345 runs.
After openers Rory Burns and Haseeb Hameed gave England the start they were desperately looking for, Root and Dawid Malan shared a brisk 139-run stand off 189 balls to pile misery on the Indians who were all out for 78 on day one.
Root as usual was a delight to watch, scoring runs at will and all around the wicket. His 14 boundaries included his trademark punch through the cover, which brought about his fifty before he flicked one between mid on and midwicket to get to three figures.
Such was the range on offer that he also swept and reverse swept left-arm spinner Ravindra Jadeja.
Barring Mohammed Shami, the Indian pacers had another ordinary day and Root made them pay for their erratic line and length.
With his 23rd hundred, Root equalled Kevin Pietersen’s record and is now only behind Alastair Cook (33).
Jasprit Bumrah managed to get one past Root’s watertight defence late in the final session to end a memorable innings in front of his home crowd.
India managed to pick five wickets in the session but the damage had already been done. (PTI)
