England captain Joe Root tormented a listless Indian bowling attack as he notched up his 22nd Test hundred on Saturday at the Lord's. Root was at his best at the home of cricket, stitching a century stand with Jonny Bairstow to put his side in a commanding position versus the tourists.
Root reached the three-figure mark in the 82nd over as England moved closer to India's first innings total of 364. Root also broke multiple records in the process.
The 30-year-old surpassed ex-skipper Andrew Strauss in England's all-time hundreds list. He is now joint-third with Ian Bell, Geoffrey Boycott, Colin Cowdrey and Walter Hammond.
Former captain Alastair Cook leads the list with 33 Test hundreds, followed by Kevin Pietersen on 23 tons.
Root now has five hundreds in 2021 -- the most by any other player. The right-hander has been in terrific form in 2021, scoring over 1100 runs at an average of over 60. He also went past the 2000-run mark against India in the traditional format, becoming the second player after Cook to achieve the feat.
The England stalwart now has seven hundreds against India in Test cricket. Only Ricky Ponting, Vivian Richards, Steve Smith and Gary Sobers have more Test centuries than Root against India. All have got eight Test tons each.
Riding on Root's magnificent ton, England moved closer to India's first innings total of 364. England dominated the third day as the Root-Bairstow duo built a century stand for the fourth wicket. Mohammed Siraj provided the breakthrough by dismissing Bairstow for 57.
Jos Buttler assisted Root with his 23-run knock before Ishant Sharma knocked him over with a peach of a delivery. England, after being on top in the first two sessions, have crossed the 300-run mark with Root and Moeen Ali in the middle.
