SL vs ENG, 2021: 1st Test, Day 2 – Root’s record hundred, A big partnership for England and more stats

England team is not so far away from raising their lead over 200 runs as they ended the 2nd day with 320/4 in reply to Sri Lanka’s 135/10. Jonny Bairstow got out on his overnight score of 47 but skipper Joe Root aimed for a big knock. Resuming the day on 66*, the No.4 batsman smashed an unbeaten 168 from 254 balls with 12 boundaries. He was involved in a 173-run stand for the 4th wicket alongside the debutant Dan Lawrence who made 73. No play was possible after Tea interval due to the rain as only 53 overs of play took place on day 2.

Here are all the statistical highlights from the 2nd day’s play of the first SL vs ENG Test match:

Root’s record hundred:

1 – Joe Root became the first player from England to smash multiple centuries in Test cricket on Sri Lankan soil. Root’s first Test ton in Sri Lanka came during the 2018 tour when he scored 124 in the Pallekele Test.

2 – Both the centuries made by Root in Test cricket in Sri Lanka came while leading England. Before him, only Nasser Hussain (1) and Michael Vaughan (1) had scored a Test century on Sri Lankan soil while leading England. Root is also the first non-Asian captain to score a Test ton as captain at the Galle Stadium.

Joe Root is now only the 4th visiting player with multiple Test hundreds as captain in Sri Lanka. Sachin Tendulkar, Stephen Fleming and Virat Kohli also have two Test tons apiece as skipper in Sri Lanka.

A big ton for the English skipper:

168* – Joe Root ended the 2nd day’s play on 168* which is now the highest individual score in Test cricket for England on Sri Lankan soil. Root surpassed Kevin Pietersen’s 151 which came during the 2012 Test match at the P Sara Oval in Colombo.

A big partnership for England:

173 – Joe Root and Daniel Lawrence added 173 runs for the 4th wicket which is now the biggest partnership for England in Test cricket in Sri Lanka. Their previous biggest stand was 167 between Nasser Hussain and Graham Thorpe for the 3rd wicket in the 2001 Kandy Test match.

Milestones for English batters:

12079 – Joe Root completed 12000 runs in his first-class career when he went past his individual score of 89. The England skipper is also nine runs away from getting to 8000 runs in Test cricket.

4021 – The debutant Dan Lawrence scored 73 runs on his debut which helped him to complete 4000 runs in first-class cricket when he went past his individual score of 52 on Friday.