Joe Root’s impressive 150, which enabled him to secure the position of the second-highest run-scorer in Men’s Test cricket, spearheaded England’s efforts, allowing the home team to establish a significant advantage as they approached Day 4 of the Manchester Test. The batsman received strong support from England’s captain, Ben Stokes, who concluded the day’s play not out on 77.
England commenced the day 225/2, with overnight batsmen Ollie Pope and Joe Root continuing their innings. Although India bowled with more discipline than they had the previous day and managed to create several opportunities, Pope and Root focused on their game to advance England’s innings.
The pair began to play more aggressively, allowing England to increase their scoring rate after the first hour, having been cautions while India’s Jasprit Bumrah was bowling earlier. England surpassed the 300 mark in the 67th over, drawing closer to India’s total of 358.
By the time Lunch arrived, both batsmen had achieved their respective half-centuries, and England was trailing India by 26 runs with eight wickets remaining.
The second session witnessed further dominance from England, with Joe Root taking charge after Washington Sundar’s spin resulted in two quick dismissals, including Pope, who was out after an impressive innings of 71, along with Harry Brook.
Root surpassed the 1000-run mark at the old Trafford Ground and also celebrated his 38th Test century, equalling Kumar Sangakkara on the all-time list. In the 101st over, he exceeded the score of 120, positioning him as the second-highest run-scorer in this format. Root reached this milestone in his 157th Test, surpassing Rahul Dravid (13,288 runs), Jacques Kallis (13,289 runs), and Ricky Ponting 13,378 runs) within the same innings.
Currently, the batsman ranks just behind India’s Sachin Tendulkar (15,291 Test runs).
