Joe Root scripts history as he has broken Sachin Tendulkar's all-time record of most runs in India versus England's Test matches. On Day 1 of the first Test against India, England's former captain Joe Root left behind Sachin Tendulkar's record of 2535 runs from 32 Tests in India vs England's Tests.
Root required just 10 runs to eclipse Sachin's mega milestone. He accomplished the big feat with a four off the fourth ball of the 21st over in England's first innings, delivered by Axar Patel.
Batters with most runs in India versus England Tests:
Joe Root - 2555 runs in 45 innings
Sachin Tendulkar - 2535 runs in 53 innings
Sunil Gavaskar - 2483 runs in 67 innings
Alastair Cook - 2431 runs in 54 innings
Virat Kohli - 1991 runs in 50 innings
England won the toss and elected to bat first. However, the decision initially didn't yield well as they lost their three wickets at the score of 60. However, Root and Jonny Bairstow steadies England's boat to take them to 108/3 after the end of first session. Root is still batting at 18 off 35 wtih Bairstow (32 off 44) at the end of 28 overs.
India skipper Rohit Sharma played a combination of three spinners and two pacers in the opening Test against England. However, he dropped Kuldeep Yadav to accomodate Axar Patel in India's playing XI.
After losing the toss captain Rohit said," We would have batted as well. Looks dry. Whether we bowl or bat first, we have the skills and we got the guys to do the job. A good series, I am playing for the first time a five-match series. We have played in these conditions before. We know what to do, it's all about executing your skills. We've got three spinners and two seamers - Bumrah, Siraj, Axar, Jadeja and Ashwin. It was a tough one (to leave out Kuldeep Yadav) Axar has done well and bats really well in these conditions. Probably the reason we went with Axar."
Meanwhile, England skipper Ben Stokes, after the toss, said, “We are gonna have a bat. It's typical conditions in India. The preparation has been really good. We know the challenge, India is a successful side. We have Hartley making his debut, Rehan has played only one side, but they have a good leader in Leach. Woody is that X-factor bowler.”
India's Playing XI: Rohit Sharma(c), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shubman Gill, KL Rahul, Shreyas Iyer, Ravindra Jadeja, Srikar Bharat(w), Ravichandran Ashwin, Axar Patel, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj.
England's Playing XI: 1. Zak Crawley, 2. Ben Duckett, 3. Ollie Pope, 4. Joe Root, 5. Jonny Bairstow, 6. Ben Stokes (captain), 7. Ben Foakes, 8. Rehan Ahmed, 9. Tom Hartley, 10. Mark Wood, 11. Jack Leach
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