MUMBAI (INDIA) – England skipper Joe Root became the first batsman to smash a double-hundred in his 100th test match. His side was in charge of the opener against India in Chennai on Saturday after he crafted a stunning 218 runs.
The 30-year-old registered his second double-century in three matches as England amassed 555-8 on a flat wicket at the MA Chidambaram Stadium.
At the end of Day Two, Dom Bess was batting on 28 with Jack Leach on six at the other end.
Root was seen battling cramps in the final overs on Friday but returned to hound India’s bowlers when England resumed on 263-3.
The right-hander looked typically solid against an Indian attack which could manage only a couple of half-hearted lbw appeals against him in the first two sessions.
Root was more than happy to let Ben Stokes dominate their 124-run collaboration for the fourth wicket as the boundaries flowed, while the latter praised his captain’s performance later.
“It’s a bit frightening when you’re at the other end and he’s playing like that and how easy he makes the game look,” Stokes said.
“At the moment he’s in incredible form and to play the way he has done in such tough conditions, so alien to us as England batsmen, is incredible.”
Playing his first test since August, Stokes smashed 10 boundaries and three sixes in a typically entertaining 82.
Test cricket’s top all-rounder asserted himself early, hitting off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin over his head for a six.
India’s desperation for a breakthrough showed when they blew back-to-back reviews after lbw appeals against Stokes and Root had been turned down.
The home side did not look sharp on the field either. Ravichandran Ashwin dropped a return catch from Stokes, then on 31, and in the next over, the all-rounder’s slog-sweep brushed a diving Cheteshwar Pujara’s fingers at midwicket.
Pujara later made amends by taking a juggling catch after Stokes had played a slog-sweep against left-arm spinner Shahbaz Nadeem.