Sports
Joe Root Century World Record and Ashwin’s Historic Double in 4th Test Against India
Joe Root Century World Record and Ashwin’s Historic Double in 4th Test Against India
Joe Root did not use the sweep shot until he was faced with his 115th delivery on a serene Friday at Ranchi. He used only one reverse sweep and patiently worked his way to a century to save the day for England in the fourth Test. With an inning of undefeated 106 from 226 balls at a strike rate of 46.90, he contrasted his aggressive style with that of the Brendon McCullum era. Root tried to find his resolve again going into the fourth Test against India after a run of poor scores in his previous Test innings, which included an 18 in the first innings at Rajkot. When taken away from the context of England’s aggressive Bazball mentality, Root’s dismissals—which featured attempts at shots that looked utterly ridiculous—sparked a great deal of criticism.
It sparked discussions about Bazball’s recklessness, and Root’s 50-plus average during the McCullum era did not protect him from criticism. The 33-year-old cricketer needed a significant blow to dispel these notions and had to go back to his conventional batting approach, which he accomplished on Friday by controlling his need for showiness. While hitting a few boundaries on his way to his 31st Test century, Root showed persistent concentration in the face of a lack of big shots. In addition, the England batsman broke the three-figure barrier and set a new record against India. As of right now, Root leads all Test century scorers against India.
The following is the longest-format list of hitters with the most three-figure scores against Indian teams:
10: Joe Root
9: Steven Smith
8: Gary Sobers
8: Viv Richards
8: Ricky Ponting
Ashwin joins the elite list
The solitary wicket Ravichandran Ashwin took that day was of England’s Jonny Bairstow, but it was a remarkable one as it sent him on an extraordinary journey. The off-spinner has formally created history as the first player from India to hit a thousand runs or more and claim 100 wickets in Test cricket against England. In a larger sense, Ashwin joins the ranks of the West Indies’ Gary Sobers, Australia’s Montague Noble, and Australia’s George Giffen as the only other players to reach this milestone. Ashwin became the eighth player in Test cricket history to accomplish this feat against an opponent, a testament to his continued rise in the league. He is the first Indian to accomplish this feat once more.
Also Read: Aakash Chopra’s reaction to Mumbai Indians’ opening game against the Gujarat Titans is, “Want Hardik Pandya to get booed.”
Dream debut for Akash Deep
On the first day of the fourth Test, bowler Akash Deep was the main attraction for India, despite Root’s impressive performance for England. With a magnificent opening spell that saw him take three wickets, including Ben Duckett (13), Ollie Pope (0), and Zak Crawley (42), the rookie set off England’s top-order collapse. The stakes were high because famous Indian pacer Jasprit Bumrah was replaced in the XI by Akash Deep. The Bengal fast bowler, nevertheless, didn’t allow the momentary nerves to affect his bowling, and even though he bowled a no-ball on a delivery that cost Crawley a wicket, Akash Deep came back stronger to destroy the English top order. The 27-year-old, following Dhruv Jurel, Sarfaraz Khan, and Rajat Patidar, was India’s fourth debutant in the series.
