England made a stunning comeback in the second session of Day 1 of the fourth Test match against India on Friday. Joe Root single-handedly dragged England from early collapse to a fighting position by smashing his 31st Test century at a crucial time.
After losing five wickets before lunch, Indian bowlers struggled to maintain momentum against stern resistance from Joe Root and Ben Foakes who added a 100-plus stand for the sixth wicket. England produced a wicketless session after lunch playing over 36 overs.
Root entered history books with his brilliant century as he became the first-ever cricketer to register 10 Test hundreds against India. He surpassed Australia's Steve Smith's nine-century record to set a major milestone in red-ball cricket against India.
Most Test centuries against India:
- Joe Root - 10 hundreds in 52 innings
- Steve Smith - 9 hundreds in 37 innings
- Gary Sobers - 8 hundreds in 30 innings
- Vivian Richards - 8 hundreds in 41 innings
- Ricky Ponting - 8 hundreds in 51 innings
England managed to post an impressive 302/7 in 90 overs when umpires called stumps on Day 1. Ben Foakes also impressed with crucial 47 runs off 126 balls while Ollie Robinson added 31* for England. Akash Deep enjoyed a brilliant debut with three wickets while Mohammed Siraj bagged two for the hosts. Ravichandran Ashwin also claimed one to complete 100 Test wickets against England.
Meanwhile, Joe Root remained unbeaten on 106* off 226 balls to register multiple records during his innings. He equalled Ricky Ponting's record of most fifty-plus scores in Tests against India with his 20th fifty-plus knock today. Root also completed 19,000 runs in international cricket and became the fourth-fastest to achieve this feat in his 444th innings.
Root also surpassed his former teammate Alastair Cook in two major records on Friday. Root replaced Cook to register the most fours in Tests against India and also for the most fifty-plus scores for England in Test cricket history, 91st.
