England captain Joe Root, who is in the form of his life, has been the tormentor-in-chief for Virat Kohli-led India in the ongoing five-match series. After producing knocks of 109 and 180 runs respectively in the first two Tests, Root continued his sublime form and smashed 121 runs at Headingley.
Root’s sensational form has become a big topic of discussion as the England skipper has earned massive praise from several cricket pundits and former cricketers.
Former Indian opener Aakash Chopra was full of praise for Root as he opined that the right-handed batsman did not play any poor shots at the beginning of his innings and has carried the confidence from the 2nd Test.
“Three matches. Three tons. One of them 180*. The fact that he’s able to take only the confidence from the previous game and not his score (in the head) makes this feat exceptional. No false shots at the start of any of the innings… Root Atoot,” Chopra tweeted.
Earlier, Root continued his purple patch to smash what was his sixth ton of 2021. He also equalled the record for the most centuries by an English batsman in a calendar year. Only Denis Compton (1947) and Michael Vaughan (2002) have previously scored as many Test hundreds in a calendar year for England. In terms of maximum tons score by English batsmen, only Alastair Cook is ahead of Root now with 33 tons.
Root made 228 and 186 in two separate Tests against Sri Lanka in Galle in January earlier this year before scoring a 218-run knock against India in Chennai the following month.
After bundling India out for just 78 in the first innings, England openers Haseeb Hameed (68) and Rory Burns (61) sent the visitors on backfoot with a century stand for the opening wicket.
England finished the second day on 423/8 with Overton (24*) and Ollie Robinson (0*) at the crease.
Dawid Malan, who smashed 70 runs on his Test comeback, hailed Root’s sublime form.
“He is phenomenal isn’t he? He just scores runs all the time,” Malan told reporters. “You look at all the best players that have played – all the greats, if you want to put it that way — and as soon as you miss your line and your length, they hurt you. Joe is one of those. It’s great to watch and it’s great to have the best seat in the house when he does play as well as that. He just moves his feet so well and his position when he hits the ball is so good…he hits the ball so much later than most people,” he said.
