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| First test, Chennai (day two) |
| England 555-8 (180 overs): Root 218, Sibley 87, Stokes 82 |
| India: Still to hit |
| Scorekeeper |
Joe Root scored an imperious double century as England continued their strong start in the first Test against India on the second day in Chennai.
England captain Root resumed his career with 128 and calmly compiled 218 to extend his impressive streak of form.
His nine-hour epic helped England close at 555-8, Ben Stokes also made an entrepreneurial 82.
The loss of four wickets in the afternoon session slowed England’s progress slightly, but tourists are still in an impressive position.
The field offers ever-increasing assistance to spinners and closer Ishant Sharma found a remarkable reverse swing late in the day, which will please England’s fast players.
Root beat everything India threw at him until he fell lbw to left arm spinner Shahbaz Nadeem in the afternoon session.
His score, the highest of any batter on his 100th test, is the best in India by a player from England and the first double hundred by a foreign player in the country since 2010.
A tired India might have finished the innings at the end of the day had it not been for a horrible catch fall by Rohit Sharma to rescue Dom Bess, who finished 28th out.
Bat root in the record books
The Root Hundred was his fifth career double, only Wally Hammond has more for England, and he follows scores of 228 and 186 in Sri Lanka last month.
On day one he was the heaviest scorer in a strong 200-run partnership with Dom Sibley; the second day he allowed Stokes to assume the role of the aggressor in his position.
Balls spit out from the previously tame field, something England will want to see when they hit the bowling on day three, but Root rarely had a problem.
| Cook Alastair | 12,472 |
| Graham gooch | 8900 |
| Joe Root | 8,467 |
| Alec stewart | 8,463 |
| David gower | 8,231 |
| Kevin Pietersen | 8,181 |
| Boycott Geoffrey | 8,114 |
For the most part, the 30-year-old was a silent hoarder before bursting into life by throwing Ravichandran Ashwin, the world’s best spinner, over six longer widths to pass 200.
Root was so focused that it took him a few moments to realize that he had reached another landmark.
When his innings were over, he missed a straight ball that slid onto his Nadeem pad, was greeted with a warm handshake from India captain Virat Kohli. It was a token of appreciation from one of the world’s other star hitters.
Sri Lankan legend Kumar Sangakkara is the only other player to have achieved scores above 180 in three consecutive Trials.
India struggles but doesn’t help herself
India already has 180 on the ground.
His fight in the last session was admirable. Ishant, in particular, was impressed by throwing Jos Buttler for 30 and Jofra Archer for a first-ball duck in back-to-back runs that were late.
However, there were errors throughout the day that did not correspond to a team at the top of the World Test Championship table.
With six overs remaining, Bess, at the 19th, gently clipped the ball to Rohit and spilled it in front of his face.
There were also crashes in the morning session: Ashwin and Cheteshwar Pujara seized tough opportunities against Stokes at the start of the morning off-road attack.
Buttler would also have been fired 12 races earlier if India hadn’t wasted their criticism earlier. The referee missed a slight snick to the goalkeeper, with India convinced he was out.
What is most disappointing for India, its bowlers have thrown 19 no-balls so far. England was likely to hit 550 when spinner Ashwin cast his second.
Stokes shines upon his return
Stokes’ innings were his first in red ball cricket since early August. He missed the last two tests of the English summer for family reasons and rested for last month’s Sri Lanka tour.
England’s all-star off-roader started quietly, he and Root engaged in an intense early battle with Ashwin and Ishant, before attacking at the first sign of real danger.
Nadeem found a spin from the footholes off his stump and Stokes, rather than defend, unleashed reverse and sweeps.
He lived dangerously, and the ball fell into unmanned spaces at times, but he dazzled and hit three sixes and 10 fours on his 118 balls.
The high-stakes strategy eventually cost him his window, he was caught on the thin leg with a high-edged sweep, but quickly helped increase England’s score from 263-3 to 387-4.
‘Victory is gone for India’ – reaction
England’s off-roader Ben Stokes speaking on Channel 4: “Joe Root makes me feel like rubbish, that’s what’s wrong with him right now. He’s an incredible player. I’m not quite sure we’ve ever had an England player playing so well, so easily and with so much control.” . It makes it look so easy and it’s a pleasure to watch. “
Former England captain Michael Vaughan on The Cricket Social: “Victory has come out of the equation for India – I don’t see how they get 700 quickly and then beat England for little money. Mentally that’s a challenge for the hitters.”
BBC cricket correspondent Jonathan Agnew: “Everyone will be talking about Root, and rightly so, but I think Stokes was brilliant today. He was a brilliant example of what to do as a southpaw when the ball is causing problems near your stump. It was simple and ruthless. If I were to sit and watch one Entrance again tonight, it would be the Stokes tickets. It was brilliant. “
