Joe Root refrained from using the sweep shot until his 115th shot at Ranchi on a balmy Friday, while building a meticulous and patient century to save the day in England's fourth Test. , only one reverse sweep was selected. His unbeaten 106 off 226 pitches (46.90 strike rate) was an innings that contrasted with the aggressive style synonymous with the Brendon McCullum era.
Root, who arrived for the fourth Test against India, sought to reaffirm his resolve amid a string of poor scores in recent Test innings, including 18 runs in the first innings against Rajkot. Root's sending off prompted considerable criticism, featuring a shot attempt that looked extremely strange when viewed out of the context of England's attacking buzz-ball philosophy.
This sparked discussion about the reckless aspects of Buzzball, and although Root's scoring average during his time at McCullum was over 50, it failed to protect him from criticism.
It took the 33-year-old cricketer quite a knock to refute such opinions and he had to go back to his traditional batting style. And on Friday, he did just that by curbing his flashy tendencies.
Root scored just nine boundaries en route to his 31st Test century, displaying unwavering focus despite lacking an explosive stroke. And the England batsman also set a new record against India when he crossed the triple-digit mark. Root is currently the highest scorer against India in Test history.
Here is the list of batsmen who have scored the most triple-digit runs against Indian teams in the longest format:
- 10 – Joe Root
- 9 – Stephen Smith
- 8 – Gary Sobers
- 8 – Viv Richards
- 8 – Ricky Ponting
Ashwin joins elite list
Ravichandran Ashwin's only wicket of the day, that of England's Jonny Bairstow, proved crucial in propelling him to a unique record. The off-spinner made history as the first Indian cricketer to score over 1000 runs and take 100 wickets against England in Test cricket.
In a broader context, Ashwin becomes the fourth player to achieve this milestone, after West Indies' Gary Sobers and Australia's Montague Noble and George Giffen.
This feat further cemented Ashwin's place in Test cricket, making him the seventh player in the history of the sport to achieve such a feat against an opponent. Once again, he stands as the first Indian to reach this milestone.
Akash Deep's dream debut
While Root shone for England, it was pacer Akash Deep who spearheaded India's proceedings on the first day of the fourth Test. The debutant caused the collapse of England's top order with his brilliant opening spell picking up his three wickets: Ben Duckett (13), Ollie Pope (0) and Zak Crawley (42).
The stakes were high as Akash Deep replaced India's star pacer Jasprit Bumrah in the eleven. However, Bengal's fast bowlers did not let the tension in the field affect their bowling and despite bowling a no-ball with a wicket-taking delivery against Crawley, Akash Deep came out even stronger. They destroyed England's top order.
The 27-year-old became India's fourth debutant in the series after Rajat Patidar, Sarfaraz Khan and Dhruv Jurel.
