Captain Root’s ton and half-centuries by England’s top-3 help swell hosts’ lead to 345

LEEDS, August 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 2 of the second Test here on Thursday. India were not able to trouble Root (121 off 165) 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 423/8. England now lead by 345 runs.

After openers Rory Burns (61 off 153) and Haseeb Hameed (68 off 195) gave England the start they were desperately looking for, Root and Dawid Malan (70 off 128) shared a brisk 139-run stand off 189 balls to pile misery on the Indians who were all out for 78 on Day 1.

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.

Malan, playing his first Test in three years, lent much needed solidity in an otherwise struggling line-up. With the confidence that the southpaw played, it didn’t seem that he was away from the five-day game for a long time.

India find themselves thrown in at the deep end and will have to bat extremely well to first avoid an innings defeat and then save the game from there on.

The pitch has dried out and Indian pacers failed to get purchase out of it for the second day running. Runs came thick and fast for England in the afternoon session as India bowlers appeared toothless, both with old and new ball. The hosts added 116 runs in the session with Root and Malan collecting runs comfortably.

Against the run of play, Malan picked up a faint edge while trying to flick Mohammad Siraj at the stroke of tea.

Indian pacers, who scripted a memorable win at Lord’s, bowled too many boundary balls and the England duo was quick to put them away. — PTI

We could have applied better: Pant

Leeds: India’s wicketkeeper-batsman Rishabh Pant admitted that the batting order could have applied better on a pitch that was soft and helped the seam bowlers early on. India were skittled out for 78 on the first day of the third Test. “I think it is part and parcel of the game. As a batting unit, you need to give your 100 per cent each day. But sometimes it doesn’t go well,” said Pant. “In the morning, the wicket was slightly on the softer side and they bowled in good areas. We could have applied much better but you can learn from it and move on. That is the only thing you can do as a cricketer,” he added. IANS

I bowl less in nets and save it for matches: Anderson

Leeds: Ageless English pacer James Anderson says the secret to his longevity in Test cricket lies in cutting down on his time at the nets to saving it for the matches. Anderson’s masterclass was full on display in an awe-inspiring spell of 8-5-6-3 with the new ball. “As I get older, I feel like I have to work little bit harder in the gym. I feel like I bowl less in the nets, and try to save it for when it matters in the middle,” the 39-year-old said. “The biggest test in Test cricket is mentally getting yourself up for bowling big spells in big games.” agencies