London [UK], August 3 : England batter Joe Root continued his fine run against India and in Test cricket in general, slamming his 39th century, overtaking Sri Lankan great Kumar Sangakkara to become the fourth-highest century-getter in white clothing.
Root achieved this upward movement in the charts during the fifth and final England Test at The Oval. Chasing 374 runs for a series win, Root delivered a clutch knock, scoring 105 in 152 balls, with 12 fours. He also struck a 195-run stand for the fourth wicket with Harry Brook.
Now, Root is just below Australia's Ricky Ponting (41), South Africa's Jacques Kallis (45) and Indian icon Sachin Tendulkar in the all-time list of Test centurions.
This is also the 24th Test hundred for Joe Root in England - the most for anyone in home Tests, surpassing 23 centuries each by Ricky Ponting, Jacques Kallis and Mahela Jayawardene.
This is Root's 57th Test fifty-plus scores for Root in England, the joint second-most for anyone in home Tests alongside Jacques Kallis and Mahela Jayawardene. Only Ricky Ponting (61) is ahead of him.
He also became the first-ever batter to complete 6,000 runs in the history of the ICC World Test Championship, scoring 6,080 runs in 69 Tests and 126 innings at an average of 52.86, with 21 centuries and 22 fifties to his name. His best score is 262. Australia's Steve Smith is the distant second in WTC all-time charts with 4,278 runs in 55 Tests and 95 innings at an average of 49.74, with 13 centuries and 19 fifties. His best score is 211.
In the ongoing series against England, Root is England's top run-getter and overall second, with 537 runs in nine innings at an average of 76.71, with three centuries and a fifty in nine innings and a best score of 150. This is the third time he has had a 500-run plus series against India, the most by any batter.
His best effort was 737 runs in five matches and nine innings during the 2021-22 series at home at an average of 105.29, with four centuries and a fifty to his name. In the 2014 series at home against India, Root had made 518 runs in five Tests and seven innings at an average of 103.60, with two centuries and three fifties.
Coming to the Test match, England ended the first session of day four at 164/3, needing 210 runs to win, with Harry Brook (38*) and Joe Root (23*) unbeaten.
After England opted to bat first, they reduced India to 153/6. A 58-run partnership between Karun Nair (57 in 109 balls, with eight fours) and Washington Sundar (26 in 55 balls, with three fours) was the most meaningful part of the inning as India was bundled out for 224 runs. Apart from Gus Atkinson's five-wicket haul, Josh Tongue (3/57) was also good.
In the second innings, four-fers from Siraj (4/83) and Prasidh Krishna (4/62) reduced England to 247, despite a 92-run opening stand between Zak Crawley (64 in 57 balls, with 14 fours) and Ben Duckett (43 in 38 balls, with five fours and two sixes). They led by 23 runs.
In India's second innings, key contributions came from Yashasvi Jaiswal (118 in 164 balls, with 14 fours and two sixes), Akash Deep (66 in 94 balls, with 12 fours), Ravindra Jadeja (53 in 77 balls, with five fours) and Washington Sundar (53 in 46 balls, with four boundaries and four sixes). They all took India to 396 runs, giving them a 373-run lead and setting a target of 374 runs for England to win the series.
At the end of session two on day four, England is 317/4, with Root (98*) and Jacob Bethell (1*) unbeaten. They need 57 runs to win the series 3-1.
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