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England star Joe Root was at his brilliant best on Friday, scoring a classy 150 and leading the Ben Stokes-led side to a commanding position in the fourth Test against India. By the end of Day 4, England had reached 544 for 7, building a solid 186-run lead over India.
Root's 38th Test century was a brilliant knock with patience and timing. He was well supported by skipper Ben Stokes, who stayed unbeaten on 77, and Ollie Pope, who scored a solid 71. The Indian bowlers, looking weary and worn out after a long tour, struggled all day under the sun.
Indian pacers Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj both looked like they were carrying injuries. Bumrah was seen holding his ankle and even left the field for a while, bowling just one over in the afternoon. When he finally returned, he managed to pick Jamie Smith's wicket for 9. Siraj, though in visible discomfort, kept pushing and got the wicket of Chris Woakes late in the day.
Chennai Super Kings speedster Anshul Kamboj, who made his debut in the ongoing Test, also struggled to make an impact. His pace was down, hovering around 125-130 kmph – much slower than the usual Test match standard.
On the other hand, Joe Root can be seen taking advantage of the friendly batting conditions. It was a Sunny day and the pitch was flat and the Indian bowlers weren’t posing many threats. With this innings, Root moved past Ricky Ponting to become the second-highest run-scorer in Test cricket history, only behind Sachin Tendulkar.
However, Washington Sundar who was surprisingly brought into the attack very late in the 69th over, picked up two quick wickets after lunch, removing Pope and Harry Brook. He brought some brief hope to the Indian camp in what was otherwise a tough day.
Earlier in the day, Root and Pope had batted confidently through the morning session, taking England to 332 for 2 by lunch. The Indian bowlers struggled to contain them and offered far too many easy runs, especially on the leg side. Even Bumrah, who usually leads the attack with fire, wasn’t his usual self; both Root and Pope punished anything too full or too short.
England started the day at 225 for 2 and smoothly moved to 266 without much fuss in the first hour. Kamboj did create one chance, but Dhruv Jurel couldn’t hold onto a tough one off Pope, who was batting on 48 at the time.
Sundar was finally brought in after lunch, but Root immediately put him under pressure with a reverse-swept four.
With just one Test remaining in the series and injuries piling up, India face an uphill battle. They’ll need something truly special to turn things around and keep the series alive.
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