England claimed the Day 2's play with an impressive blowing performance of the fourth Test match against India on Saturday. England are now prime position to level the series in Ranchi as India trail by 134 runs going seven wickets down in their first innings.
Ranchi's pitch raised a lot of questions from Day 1 and it further deteriorated on Saturday providing ten wickets on a cracked-up surface. However, Joe Root managed to resist it with sensational batting to bring his 31st Test century on the opening day and also remained unbeaten on 122 playing 274 balls.
Root ended his poor run of form in this series with a brilliant knock when needed it most. He also silenced his critics who questioned his batting style in England's bazball approach. Root also got slammed by former cricketers and fans for playing a reverse-scoop shot in the first innings of the Rajkot shot, having mastered it in the last two years.
However, he displayed a traditional approach to Ranchi's tough conditions which proved effective. After Day 2's play, he talked about England's position in the game and also revealed that he briefly thought of getting his century with reverse-scoop six on Friday.
"We had a good couple of days," Root said after Day 2's play in Ranchi on Saturday. "That's how I play every game really, play according to the situation and conditions. It looks like the pitch will keep deteriorating. I must admit it did cross my mind (when asked about getting century with a reverse-scoop six) but it was not a great option as the wicket was keeping low unlike the previous wicket. I was desperate to get some runs for the guys and I was happy to do that today."
Root also praised young English spinners Shoaib Bashir and Tom Hartley for producing match-defining spells on Day 2.
"I have used him (Stokes with the ball) a fair bit when I was captain and he can do the same with me. Seeing the two young spinners perform like that is encouraging for England cricket. I hadn't seen much of him (Bashir) before this series but he is a great character and has a sense of humor, it was great to see him keep coming at the batters," Root added.
