England vs India 2021, 2nd Test, Day 3 Stats Review: Joe Root shatters a flurry of records with stunning century

The ongoing second Test match between England and India is certainly going nowhere. At stumps on Day 3, England were folded for 391 runs, earning a lead of 27 runs. As the scoreline suggests, the game is perfectly poised at the moment and it would be interesting to see how the remaining two days pan out. Meanwhile, the highlight of Day 3 was Joe Root’s batting masterclass at the Lord’s Cricket Stadium.

The England skipper paced his knock to perfection and slammed a sensational century. While wickets kept falling at the other end, Root was solid as a rock at one end. He didn’t lose his concentration even after crossing the three-figure mark. The 30-year-old eventually remained unbeaten at 180 as England went past India’s first-innings total.

Earlier in the day, England resumed at their overnight score of 119/3, trailing by 245 runs. With the sun coming out and pacers not getting purchase from the surface, the conditions were suitable for batting. Root and Jonny Bairstow made brilliant use of the opportunity and made Indian bowlers work hard. As a result, the home team didn’t lose any wickets in the first session.

Bairstow eventually fell prey to Mohammed Siraj but not before scoring a well-paced 57. Jos Buttler and Moeen Ali also chipped in with handy cameos but they couldn’t accompany their skipper for long. Nevertheless, Root didn’t put his guards down at one end and advanced to his 22nd Test ton. Riding on his brilliance, the Three Lions posted 391 runs.

For India, Mohammed Siraj picked four wickets while veteran pacer Ishant Sharma got three scalps. Both sides are neck-to-neck at the moment which makes Day 4 very much crucial. While the visitors would like to post a substantial total, the home team would want to inflict a significant damage with the ball.

Meanwhile, here are the important stats and numbers from the England vs India 2nd Test Day 3

22 – Joe Root registered his 22nd century in Test matches; joint-third most for England player. Colin Cowdrey, Wally Hammond and Geoffrey Boycott also have as many Test hundreds for the Three Lions.

5 –Root became the first England captain to smash five Test centuries in a calendar year. Graham Gooch, Michael Atherton, and Andrew Strauss jointly hold second place on this list with four tons.

17 – Root now has 17 scores of 50 or more against India in Test matches, most for an England batter.  The 30-year-old surpassed Alastair Cook’s tally of 16 scores of 50+.

4 – Root became the first player to register four Test scores in excess of 150 at the Lord’s Cricket Stadium.

2– Root became the second England player to complete 9000 Test runs. Only Alastair Cook has scored more runs in Tests for England (12,472).

1 – This was Jonny Bairstow’s first half-century in Test cricket after two years. His last fifty in the format came exactly two years ago in Ashes 2019.

2 – Root became the second England captain to have two scores of 150+ against India in Test matches. Alastair Cook is the other player holding the feat.

6 – Root now has six scores of 150+ as Test captain, second-most for any active cricketer. Virat Kohli tops this list with nine scores in excess of 150 while leading India in the longest format.

36 – Mohammed Shami now has 36 Test wickets against England, most for him against an opponent.