Joe Root hits record-breaking century to put England on verge of series victory
It seems like it was just yesterday that Joe Root stepped onto the field in Nagpur and greeted Kevin Pietersen with a friendly "Hello, how are you?" before scoring a smooth three runs through the covers. England believed they had a talented player in Root, but his true potential was yet to be determined.
Twelve years later, Root still looks young and cheerful. Just two days after scoring his 33rd Test century for England, he broke the record in a match against Sri Lanka at Lord's. This win puts England on track for a series victory.
In this impressive collection of matches, there have been many challenging moments where Root had to work hard to save England from a difficult position. The third innings of a Test match can sometimes lack excitement, especially when one team has already taken a significant lead and decided not to enforce the follow-on. Spectators are left waiting for the final outcome to be revealed and the beginning of a thrilling attack with the ball.
As fans left Lord's on Saturday night, everyone was impressed by England's performance in reducing Sri Lanka to 53 for two while chasing 483 to tie the series. The only complaint was about the early end due to bad light. Earlier, Root delivered a memorable moment with a score of 98. He successfully executed a short-ball plan by hitting a boundary through the off side.
Cook watched from the media center at Lord's, gladly declaring Root as England's best. The ex-opener will soon be surpassed by Root as the highest run-scorer in Test cricket for England. Root was the last batsman out for 103 runs out of a total of 251, and he needs just 96 more runs to beat Cook's record of 12,472 runs. This milestone could happen at the Oval next week, completing a Test summer that started with England's top wicket-taker, Jimmy Anderson, retiring.
Currently, there is a good possibility that he will perform well. Since the third Test against India in February, where his reverse scoop caused a major collapse, Root has scored 884 runs in 12 innings with an average of 88.4. His batting style has been precise and attractive to watch. The reverse scoop incident, which happened when he was on 69, has been a turning point in the 33-year-old player's career.
Root is a very team-oriented player who doesn't focus solely on himself, but his desire to succeed has never been stronger. After scoring an important 143 runs on the first day, he achieved something rare by scoring a century in both innings of a Test match for the first time in his career. This accomplishment is even more special because it happened at Lord's, a place known for its significance in cricket history. Root now joins a select group of players, including George Headley, Graham Gooch, and Michael Vaughan, who have achieved this feat. In addition, Root now holds the record for the most Test centuries at Lord's by scoring seven centuries, surpassing the previous record of six shared by Gooch and Vaughan.
As England continued to dominate Sri Lanka on the second day of the match, thanks to Gus Atkinson's century and taking 10 quick wickets, there was still some work to be done when Root came to bat in the morning. Ben Duckett was out caught at slip for 24, and Ollie Pope fell soon after, leaving England at 69 for three with a lead of 300. The highest Test run chase at Lord's is 342, achieved by West Indies in 1984, but in the County Championship, the record is 472, achieved by Middlesex 10 years ago, a match where Root was leading Yorkshire.
England was eager to score quickly, which may have led to some of the players getting out. However, captain Joe Root continued to score steadily and efficiently. He reached his century in just 111 balls, making it his fastest Test hundred yet. Apart from one early mistake, Root's batting was nearly flawless. Despite facing some challenges from spinner Prabath Jayasuriya and Sri Lanka's fast bowlers, Root held his ground and played with confidence.
Once Root reached a score of over 100 runs with the lower-order batsmen, Pope, who was captaining in place of the regular skipper, kept appearing on the balcony seeking advice from head coach McCullum on when to declare the innings. However, Root's dismissal ended the discussion and tea was served before Sri Lanka began their challenging task of chasing a high target. Despite this, Root was not finished with achieving impressive milestones.
Atkinson and Olly Stone quickly took the wickets of Pathum Nissanka and Nishan Madushka before the end of the game, which ended in a slightly amusing way. Both times, the ball flew into the hands of Root at the second slip. Root now has 200 Test catches, which is 25 more than Cook, the next Englishman on the list. Just like his successful run count in India years ago, Root is likely to catch many more balls in the future.
