Twitter Reactions: Joe Root's third successive ton piles the misery on India at Headingley

Dawid Malan also looked good on his comeback as England stretched their lead past 340 runs in the first innings.

By Aditya Gajanan Kukalyekar verified

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Joe Root
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Joe Root. (Photo by Philip Brown/Popperfoto/Popperfoto via Getty Images)

Joe Root. Yes he was the man again for England at Headingley, much like the first two Tests. The England skipper’s golden run with the bat continued in the third Test against India as well. He smacked a fluent 121 runs at a strike-rate of more than 70 and by the time Root got out, England’s lead had crossed a whopping 300 in the first innings.

Earlier in the day, the hosts started with the score of 120/0 as the openers Rory Burns and Haseeb Hameed looked to build on their half-centuries. But both of them didn’t get to the elusive three-figure mark. Burns was castled by Mohammed Shami in the first half hour of the day itself while Hameed got a ripping delivery from Ravindra Jadeja to disturb the top of off-stump.

At 159/2, India would’ve hoped to restrict England’s lead. But their nemesis on this tour – Joe Root – had other ideas. He and the comeback Dawid Malan made the most of the best batting conditions at Headingley stitching a 139-run stand in less than 32 overs. Indian bowlers understandably looked flustered with Ishant Sharma being the biggest disappointment for the visitors.

Both the batsmen made the meal out of the score and took the lead past the 200-run mark. India conceded 116 runs in around 26 overs in the second session which effectively batted them almost out of the game. The tourists were lucky to dismiss Malan on 70 off the last ball of the session as the southpaw was strangled down the leg-side and the review earned India the breakthrough.

India pick four wickets but England strengthen their lead in final session

The final session witnessed India clawing back a bit with their pacers Shami and Jasprit Bumrah bowling their heart out. However, the runs continued to come at a fair clip. In the process, Root got to his majestic ton, his third successive of the series. He once again put on an exhibition of his masterclass batting to score 121 and it was Jasprit Bumrah who breached his defense finally.

The ball pitched on a good length area and jagged back in even as the England captain reached out for the ball in an attempt to play a drive. However, that left a big gap between bat and pad to find his middle stump as India heaved a sigh of relief. Wickets fell around him through the session with Jonny Bairstow, Jos Buttler and Moeen Ali not adding much to the total.

The tail wagged though for the home side as Sam Curran played a handy knock before getting out on 15 while Craig Overton showed off his technique to stay unbeaten in the middle on 22 alongside Ollie Robinson. England ended the day strongly on 423/8 with a huge lead 345 runs in the first innings.

With the pitch looking flat at the moment, India would be looking to bat well in their second essay. But they are so much behind in the game and it will take a more than extraordinary effort from their batsmen to come out of this trouble unscathed.

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