India v England: Masterful Joe Root guides tourists out of trouble

Root ended the day unbeaten on 106, reaching his 31st Test century with a classy punch through extra cover, his hundred taking 219 balls and dragging England away from the peril of 112 for 5

Nick Friend | 23/02/2024 at 10:59

Ranchi (day one of five): England 302-7, India

Joe Root's masterful century rescued England in Ranchi after Akash Deep's opening burst had threatened to blow the tourists away in the opening session.

Root ended the day unbeaten on 106, reaching his 31st Test century with a classy punch through extra cover, his hundred taking 219 balls – the slowest under the McCullum-Stokes axis but also one of the most important.

The former captain came to the crease after Deep had Ben Duckett caught behind and Ollie Pope adjudged lbw in the 10th over.

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^{Ben Stokes was trapped by a ball that pea-rolled on the stroke of lunch (Gareth Copley/Getty Images)}

And England looked in disarray when Zak Crawley, who had earlier received a life when bowled by a Deep no-ball, was then cleaned up for a second time by the impressive debutant.

Batting was tough initially while the surface was carrying moisture; Crawley was pinned on the glove in the first over, and the ball jagged around.

Jonny Bairstow was trapped in front while attempting to slog-sweep Ravichandran Ashwin, before Ben Stokes was a victim of the pitch's inconsistent bounce.

He went back to a short delivery from Ravindra Jadeja on the stroke of lunch and was hit on the toe. He laughed as he gave himself out, trudging off with England dangerously poised on 112 for 5 at lunch.

Five reviews meant that just 24.1 overs were bowled in the first session; India were out of referrals by mid-afternoon.

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^{Zak Crawley was one of three early victims for Akash Deep on debut (Gareth Copley/Getty Images)}

Root was joined by Ben Foakes for a terrific rearguard in the middle of the day, and for the first time in the series England went through a session without losing a wicket. They shared 113 in 43.3 overs before Foakes chipped tamely to midwicket.

Root, as so often over the last decade, was a constant, hardly sweeping let alone reverse-sweeping against plenty of low bounce, and there was no sign of the reverse-ramp that caused much debate after his dismissal in Rajkot.

He found willing allies in Tom Hartley (13) and Ollie Robinson, with whom he shared an unbroken 57-run stand for the eighth wicket.

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