Ranchi (Jharkhand) [India], February 23 : England batter Joe Root's 31st Test ton brought the game back to balance after India managed to race away in the first session of Day 1 of the fourth Test on Friday at the JSCA International Stadium Complex.
At the end of the day's play, England posted a score of 302/7 with Root and Ollie Robinson unbeaten with scores of 106(226) and 31(60) respectively.
Root's composure was on full display while making his first appearance of the tour, Robinson caught the eye of the spectators with a six and a four during the final overs of the powerplay.
Root tapped into his prime form to pull England back into the game after India reduced them to a score of 112/5. With an exquisite drive, he found the boundary line to raise his bat for his 31st Test ton.
Root's knock was a perfect blend of patience and aggression as he picked his moments to find the boundary line which kept the scoreboard ticking.
After going wicketless in the second session, Mohammed Siraj struck twice by removing set batter Ben Foakes for 47 and then breached Tom Hartley's defence for 13.
Root along with Ollie Robinson stitched up an unbeaten 57-run stand which allowed England to amass runs at a healthy run rate. Their unbeaten partnership ensured England went past the 300-run mark and finished the day on a dominant note.
In the second session, England scored 86 runs. Meanwhile, the Indian bowling failed to scalp a single wicket after a dominating start in the game.
This marked the first time England went wicketless in an entire session in the ongoing five-match Test series against India. In the last 10 overs, England have scored 20 runs. On the other hand, India tried to find a wicket but failed.
The last wicket of the game came in the first session when Ravindra Jadeja dismissed English skipper Ben Stokes for just three runs when the visitors were at 112/5 in the 25th over.
Foakes have slammed 2 fours. While Root smashed 7 fours and not a single overhead boundary.
In the 40th over, England reached the 150-run mark after facing 242 balls.
In the final session of the day, if Root and Foakes continue to build the partnership and India fails to bag any early wickets, it will be tough for the hosts to dominate the fourth Test match in Ranchi.
Earlier in the first session, England stood at 112/5 with Joe Root (16* runs from 41 balls) on the crease.
Zak Crawley (42 runs from 42 balls) and Ben Duckett (11 runs from 21 balls) opened for England and could make only a 47-run partnership. Debutant Akash Deep made the first breakthrough of the game after he dismissed Duckett for 11 runs in the 10th over. The left-handed English batter could only smash just 1 four after playing 21 balls. Ollie Pope replaced Duckett on the crease.
Deep was on fire and did not give any time to Pope to settle as he dismissed the star English batter for a two-ball duck in the 10th over itself.
The debutant's third wicket of the session came after he removed Crawley in the 12th over for 42 runs. The English opener smashed 6 fours and 1 six after facing 42 balls.
Ravichandran Ashwin picked up his 100th Test wicket against England after he removed Jonny Bairstow in the 22nd over for 38 runs. Bairstow smashed 4 fours and 1 six during his short time on the crease.
The final dismissal of the first session came after Ravindra Jadeja dismissed English skipper Ben Stokes for 3 runs from 6 balls in the 25th over. In the first session, India picked up five wickets and England put 112 runs on the scoreboard.
Brief score: England 302/7 (Ben Fokes 47, Joe Root 106*; Akash Deep 3/70) vs India.
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