Joe the Great, India grind and the ghost of Chennai... TEST MATCH TALKING POINTS

NICK HOWSON: Another day of dominance for England came as Joe Root went to his fifth double century, Virat Kohli wasted India's reviews and the klaxon for front-foot no-balls deafened us all

India v England: 1st Test scorecard

India v England, Test series: All you need to know

Little goes India's way

It was another thankless task for India on day two, and once again several aspects of their own performance highlighted just how little joy they were having.

Virat Kohli threw away three reviews, two of which were desperate, almost laughable attempts at claiming a breakthrough. And he was made to pay for his wastefulness.

Two difficult chances went down as Ben Stokes opened his shoulders. Ravichandran Ashwin missed a caught and bowled chance and Cheteshwar Pujara couldn't cling on at mid-wicket.

The allrounder also avoided running out Joe Root after attempting a crazy single.

As the ball continued to be ripped apart by the abrasive Chennai pitch India continually tried to get the ball changed. Kohli's men were trying anything to get a foothold in the contest, but with no success.

England, to their credit, barely gave the hosts a glimmer. Momentum is an overvalued asset in sport, but India needed no encouragement on home turf.

Late wickets did fall to reward them for putting in the hard, but by then the mental and physical damage had been done.

How long before Root is a genuine great?

Cut away, cut away for four.

Root didn't know it. The commentators didn't know it. Those in charge of the big screen were unaware too.

When England's skipper got off the mark after lunch, jumping on another missed length from Nadeem Shahraz he went to another historic landmark.

It took him past Sir Vivian Richards for international runs in all formats. Stephen Fleming would also be behind him the close.

He later went to a fifth double century without noticing either, pummeling Ashwin over long-on. His conversion rate now stands at 25 per cent.

Root has jumped four places in England's all-time Test run-scorer list already this year and in this kind of form Graham Gooch and the 9,000 mark is surely attainable before the end of the year, too.

Here are some other records Root set during his 218:

- First player to score a double century in their 100th Test

- The highest score by a visiting batsman at Chennai

- The first overseas double centurion in India since 2010

- Best individual score by an Englishman in India

- Second player to make three consecutive 180+ scores

^{Jasprit Bumrah led the charge early on day two}

Before the Test, Kohli dismissed the idea of a 'big four' containing himself, Root, Kane Williamson and Steve Smith.

"The talk of big four is created by the media," he said pre-match. "As international cricketers, we know impact players when we see them and Joe has been one of those for a while now."

Perhaps now is the time to wonder whether Root can be considered an all-time great.

As far as scoring runs is concerned, the Yorkshireman is already a doyen of English cricket. The numbers do not lie in that regard. Granted, there are some names to reign-in between now and the end of his career but he has little more to prove.

The gaps in his CV are well-documented and 2021 represents the opportunity to fill those voids. A series win in India. Winning the Ashes Down Under.

Ultimately, statistically, there will be no shifting Root from conversations regarding some of England's all-time finest batsmen. But whether they are supplemented by wider successes remains to be seen.

The highest score by a visiting batsman at Chennai! 💪#INDvENG | 📸 BCCI pic.twitter.com/DgwYnc9pH1

— The Cricketer (@TheCricketerMag) February 6, 2021

Kuldeep kept watching

A change of selection doesn't suddenly make the ball turn square. This was a road from the outset which India have failed to temper.

In the absence, of Ravindra Jadeja India had a dilemma over the identity of their third spinner.

A knee injury quickly ruled out Axar Patel from making his Test debut, but his chance will come. His IPL form and batting ability means it is a matter of time.

Every indication prior to the Test was that Kuldeep Yadav, who had been held back in Australia, would return for a first Test outing since 2019.

Indeed, India's backroom team and Kohli himself had talked up the 26-year-old ahead of the series.

"Someone like Kuldeep hasn’t had a lot of game time but now that the home season starts, he will in the scheme of things, he will be in the team plans, but to keep guys motivated you need to give them goals," said the skipper.

But the hosts went in a different direction, choosing to give a second Test to Shahbaz Nadeem. It would be fair to say the selection hasn't paid off, even if he can list Stokes and Root as his victims.

Though Shahbaz has offered very little control, it would be unfair to suggest that Kuldeep would have fared significantly better. Perhaps England wouldn't have got away as readily, but would still have gone on the attack.

The more pertinent question surrounds Kuldeep's own ambitions. He played just five IPL matches for Kolkata Knight Riders in the UAE (he has been retained for the 2021 edition) and played just one ODI in Australia.

If he's not in contention when Ashwin and Jadeja are available, and misses out when they're ruled out and on home turf, you have to wonder when he will ever get the nod.

Certainly, public comments do not tally with reality and there must be wider concerns over Kuldeep for him to be continually overlooked.

India's strength in depth, which was emphasised in Australia, means players are always going to be left disappointed. But Kuldeep's omissions deserve special attention.

^{Ben Stokes accelerated the scoring rate during his 82}

The ghost of Chennai

It was notable after day one how Root spoke about England reaching 600-700 in their first innings. It wasn't just pie-in-the-sky thinking, he was making a very real point.

On the tourists' last visit to Chennai in 2016, they put on 477 in the first innings, what at the time was their eighth highest score in India.

The hosts were stuck in for 20 overs on day two but were still there two days later having put on 759-7 declared. England eventually lost by an innings and 75 runs on day five.

Sir Alastair Cook's side soaked up 157.2 overs, scoring at 3.03 and neither spent long enough at the crease, capitalised on conditions or showed enough initiative.

Root is clearly desperate to avoid a repeat. The approach of Ben Stokes, who was also part of that side five years ago, did help drive up that scoring rate with his 82 coming at a strike-rate of 69.49.

Equally as important is to occupy the middle and allow the runs to come naturally. Though there was instances of some uneven bounce and a bit of turn against the left-handers (Root was noticeably encouraged) this was still a terrific batting wicket on day two.

It was only 15 years ago that England made their highest first innings score with ended in a defeat, after making 551-6d against Australia in Adelaide.

For the most part, there has been something very Brisbane 2010 about this England batting display. Andrew Strauss, Cook and Jonathan Trott put on 517-1d in the second innings at The Gabba, playing their way into form, setting the tone for a victorious series and disrupting the hosts' awesome record at the ground.

It wore down Australia's bowlers in the first Test of the series and laid the platform for what was to follow.

No-ball fire alarm

The third umpire calling front-foot no balls is now a permanent arrangement in international cricket, and it is a welcome and easy addition. It is remarkable that it took until 2019 for a trial, and last year for the full implementation.

The on-field officials are notified via a loud alarm played through their earpiece to alert them before a bowler reaches the end of their run-up.

Possibly to ensure viewers haven't nodded off, the noise has been played through the TV audio feed too. Every so often it sounds as though Chepauk is about to be evacuated.

And due to India's ill-discipline, it has had a regular outing. They have overstepped 19 times, an indication of how the wheels gradually fell off.

One million watch Root century

Channel 4 have revealed that more than one million people watched Root reach his 20th Test century on day one, upon the longest format returning to free-to-air television.

Furthermore, there was a decent smattering of youngsters who tuned in. Inspiration a generation and all that.

For a Test which is being played in the early hours, that is an impressive figure. He reached the landmark just before 10:30 am on Friday but still had a decent audience.

Now, where are those social media clips?

🏏 The first day of live coverage of India v England on @Channel4 attracted a peak audience of 1.1m (18.4% share) and 96k of 16-34 year olds. Just under a million people watched Joe Root reach 100 runs 👏🏻 #CricketOn4

— Channel 4 Press (@C4Press) February 6, 2021

Images courtesy of BCCI

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