Joe Root
England skipper Joe Root channeled his inner Michael Clarke on Thursday to castle down India's middle-order lineup, folding the hosts for 145 on day 2 of the third Test against India at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad.
Root claimed an astounding and innings-changing five-wicket haul, conceding just eight runs in 38 deliveries, the first ever in his 162-match First Class career.
India did not send a nightwatchman on Wednesday night after the third dismissal, hoping to make the most of the afternoon session on day 2 and bat out England out of the Test. But moments after India crawled past England's first-innings score, Jack Leach removed Ajinkya Rahane and Rohit Sharma before it was a Root show in Ahmedabad.
He removed Rishabh Pant and Washington Sundar in the first ball of his first two overs. Axar Patel then looked to be aggressive against the offie and ended up collecting a duck. R Ashwin looked strong, drawing inspiration from his Chennai knock, but eventually fell for 17 and Root completed his fi-fer with the dismissal of Jasprit Bumrah.
Root became the first England captain to record a five-wicket haul in Asia and first in men's cricket since 1982, joining an elusive list of nine other England captains. He also became the first England spinner to take a fi-fer in Day-Night Test and eighth overall with Ahmedabad Test becoming the second instance in Pink Ball game where two spinners have taken a five-wicket haul after Pakistan's game against Sri Lanka in 2016 in Dubai where Yasir Shah picked six wickets while Kusal Perera picked five.
