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Joe Root is back with a bang as he notched a masterful century to rescue England from a precarious position on Day 1 of the fourth Test against India at Ranchi's JSCA stadium on Friday, February 23. At the end of Day 1's play, England were 302/7 with Joe Root (106 off 226) and Ollie Robinson (31 off 60) intact on the crease.
Akash Deep dazzles on debut
England, who are trailing the five-match series 1-2, got off to a shaky start and found themselves clueless in negotiating India's debutant Akash Deep's bowling. Akash Deep ripped through the England's top order. Akash removed visitors' top three batters, Zak Crawley (42), Ben Duckett (11) and Ollie Pope (0) and left them teetering at 57/3. Then Joe Root came to England's rescue and kept the scoreboard running. However, England's misery didn't end there as they lost two more wickets in quick succession in Jonny Bairstow and Ben Stokes which left the Three Lions reeling at 112/5. Root then combined with Ben Foakes and stitched a solid 113-run partnership to take England to 225 before their wicketkeeper fell to Mohammed Siraj after scoring a patient 47 off 126. But undeterred by India's sharp bowling Root kept going and ultimately notched his 31st Test century to announce his comeback and took England to a respectable 302/7.
Joe Root scripts history
With this Root etched his name into the record books. With this achievement, he now holds the record for the most Test centuries scored against India, overtaking Australian competitor Steve Smith with a total of 10 hundreds. This century was Root's first in Test cricket after a span of 14 innings, with his previous century in the format coming against Australia in Birmingham in June 2023. It also marked his first century on Indian soil in three years, his last being in Chennai in February 2023, which he impressively turned into a double century. Root has now amassed over 20 half-centuries against India in Test matches, tying with Australian cricket icon Ricky Ponting for this distinction.
England recover from early blow
England's skipper Ben Stokes chose to bat first on a Ranchi pitch expected to worsen over time, which surprisingly offered immediate action. Mohammed Siraj, leading the pace attack in Jasprit Bumrah's absence, initially faltered in finding his rhythm and was overshadowed by newcomer Akash Deep.
Akash nearly celebrated an early success in his fourth over, having beaten Zak Crawley but was denied by a no-ball for overstepping. Nonetheless, he soon claimed his first wicket by dismissing Ben Duckett through a catch at the edge. The debutant didn't stop there, quickly removing England's vice-captain Ollie Pope LBW and, in his next over, removing Crawley with a clean bowl for 42.
Jonny Bairstow then joined forces with Root, only to fall LBW to Ravichandran Ashwin, followed by Ben Stokes being caught off guard by a low delivery from Ravindra Jadeja, leaving England struggling. However, Joe Root and wicketkeeper Ben Foakes steadied the ship, navigating through the second session unscathed, regaining some momentum for England.
Post-tea, Siraj managed to dismiss Foakes with a soft catch to Jadeja, and although Ashwin initially thought he had Tom Hartley LBW, a review indicated a bat involvement, sparing Hartley momentarily before Siraj's precision dismissed him, enhancing England's troubles.
Ollie Robinson then partnered with Root, narrowly escaping several close calls, further agitating India as they had exhausted their reviews on a previous unsuccessful appeal against Foakes. The highlight came as Root gracefully drove a ball to the boundary for a cover drive, marking his 31st Test century, celebrated emphatically by Stokes and the team. Root closed the day at 106 not out, with Robinson also unbeaten at 31, while Akash Deep stood out for India with figures of 3-70.
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