Joe Root’s 21st Test century: The English captain put on display a magnificent knock to bail out England on Day 4 at Trent Bridge.
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During the fourth day of the first Test of the ongoing India’s tour of England in Nottingham, England captain Joe Root scored his 21st Test century in a much-needed situation.
Root, who has been the focal point of England’s Test batting in recent times, once again played that role with utmost precision to score his 12th Test century at home, 10th as captain, 12th at No. 4, sixth against India and third at this venue.
Coming in to bat at No. 4 in the 18th over, Root was required to bat England out of trouble after his team lost two quick wickets in the first session. Root, 30, not only stitched a rescue act but stitched it in a way that snatched the advantage from the opposition.
The fact that Root completed his half-century in just 68 deliveries speaks highly about the control with which he played at Trent Bridge today. It was on the fourth delivery of the 75th over when Root drove Shardul Thakur down the ground to reach the three-figure mark.
Rotating the strike without much discomfort, the right-hand batsman hitting as many as 14 fours made matters difficult for the Indian bowlers. With England’s lead crossing the 150-run mark, the hosts would want Root to score as many runs as possible with the lower-order to challenge India in the fourth innings.
Twitter reactions on Joe Root’s 21st Test century:
💯 for the English skipper as the crowd goes RRROOOOOOOOOOOOOTTTTTT 🔥
Tune into Sony Six (ENG), Sony Ten 3 (HIN), Sony Ten 4 (TAM, TEL) & SonyLIV (https://t.co/AwcwLCPFGm ) now! 📺#ENGvINDOnlyOnSonyTen #BackOurBoys #JoeRoot pic.twitter.com/cDfEOryF2r
— Sony Sports (@SonySportsIndia) August 7, 2021
What a hundred from Root. Match on the line, a wobbly batting lineup around him, and a Test bowling attack with teeth. Could be the defining innings of the match
— Sambit Bal (@sambitbal) August 7, 2021
That is a magnificent hundred from @root66. The shots, the context of the match, the strike rate… Such fantastic batting. Young players should watch his movement and the rhythm in his innings. So good.#ENGvIND
— Ian Bell (@Ian_Bell) August 7, 2021
Top knock 👏🏼👏🏼
Rooooooooooot #ENGvIND— Deep Dasgupta (@DeepDasgupta7) August 7, 2021
That is truly one of Joe Root’s finest Test hundreds. Just a colossal effort from a man essentially carrying England’s batting by himself. And he knows that. Magnificent effort. #ENGvIND
— Raunak Kapoor (@RaunakRK) August 7, 2021
One of the GREAT Test Tons … Magnificent @root66 !! 👍👍 #ENGvIND
— Michael Vaughan (@MichaelVaughan) August 7, 2021
Joe Root you are a master craftsman and our greatest ever. England would not be the same without him. 💯 #ENGvIND
— Fabian Cowdrey (@fkcowdrey) August 7, 2021
Hell of an innings from Root. His under-prepared team in disarray in the build-up, and the batting basically him or bust. Truly remarkable #ENGvIND
— Andrew Miller (@miller_cricket) August 7, 2021
1,000 – @englandcricket captain @root66 is the only player to score over 1,000 runs in men’s Test cricket since the beginning of 2021; he also has four centuries (228, 186, 218 & 102*) this year, the most by a batsman. Pinnacle.
#ENGvsIND #ENGvIND pic.twitter.com/jrumytPcYU
— OptaJim (@OptaJim) August 7, 2021
A wonderful hundred from Joe Root, one of his best. It’s his 4th of the year, and England’s 5th (which says it all really).
— Will Macpherson (@willis_macp) August 7, 2021
Special 💯 for Root. Steering the ship again #ENGvIND
— Isa Guha (@isaguha) August 7, 2021
That is quite simply an outstanding century from Joe Root. An innings of the highest class. And the celebration tells you exactly what it means to him. Quality batting under intense pressure. Will it help England save or even WIN this Test Match…? #ENGvIND
— Aatif Nawaz (@AatifNawaz) August 7, 2021
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