'Godlike' Root pumps India with record ton

Carrying connected the champion signifier of his life, England skipper Joe Root scored his 3rd period of the bid against India to determination his squad into a premier presumption to triumph the 3rd trial astatine Headingley.

Root struck 121 — adding to knocks of 109 and 180 earlier successful the bid and 3 different three-figure scores successful 2021 — arsenic England reached 423-8 astatine the extremity of Day 2, for a pb of 345 runs.

England batsman Joe Root celebrates his period during time 2 of the Third Test Match betwixt England and India astatine Emerald Headingley Stadium connected August 26, 2021 successful Leeds, England. (Photo by Stu Forster/Getty Images) (Getty)

Root, whose singular scoring tally this twelvemonth contains 2 treble centuries including 1 against India successful Chennai, has tied England's grounds for the astir trial hundreds successful a calendar year. No erstwhile trial skipper has scored six centuries successful a calendar year.

His full of 1,398 runs from 21 innings successful 2021 comes astatine an mean of 69.90.

"There's truthful overmuch you tin larn arsenic a young subordinate from Joe Root," said England opener Haseeb Hameed, who weighed successful with 68. "He's of the highest people but, for me, what stands retired is the simplicity of his game.

"He plays similar helium has truthful overmuch time, he's truthful diligent and besides the intelligence broadside of things, to crook up and execute successful each innings shows however bare helium is."

India, which was dismissed for 78 successful conscionable 40.4 overs connected Wednesday, had nary reply to Root's array of shot-making connected the crushed of his English region side, Yorkshire, and the fans successful Headingley's raucous Western Terrace serenaded their antheral arsenic helium deed a bound into the limb broadside to scope his century.

Root removed his helmet, leapt into the aerial and screamed "YES!" earlier being lifted disconnected his feet by teammate Jonny Bairstow.

Resuming connected 120-0 aft dominating time 1, England mislaid some openers — Rory Burns (61) and Hameed — earlier luncheon to bring Root to the crease. He shared a 139-run concern with Dawid Malan, who was caught down behind the limb broadside disconnected the last shot of the 2nd league for 70 to extremity his awesome archetypal trial innings since 2018.

Bairstow added 29, and some Jos Buttler (7) and Moeen Ali (8) fell cheaply either broadside of Root getting bowled by Jasprit Bumrah. The skipper walked disconnected the tract to a lasting ovation.

England inactive moved beyond 400 with a precocious flurry of runs, with Craig Overton (23) and Ollie Robinson (0) astatine the crease astatine stumps.

"Yesterday was beauteous overmuch a cleanable time and contiguous we were capable to physique connected that," Hameed said. "We are precise blessed going into tomorrow."

England players wore achromatic armbands successful grant of Ted Dexter, the erstwhile England skipper from the 1960s who died connected Wednesday.

India leads the five-match bid 1-0.

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