Root becomes England's third-highest run scorer as hosts dominate India with 332/2 at lunch

MANCHESTER: Joe Root became England's third-highest run scorer in Test cricket and, alongside Ollie Pope, dominated a listless Indian attack, guiding the hosts to 332 for two at lunch on day three of the fourth Test here on Friday.

Resuming at 225 for two, England added 107 runs in a wicketless morning session, with Root (63 not out off 115 balls) and Pope (71 not out off 123) forging an unbeaten 135-run stand that threatened to take the game away from India, who held only a 26-run lead after scoring 358 in their first innings.

The Indian bowlers did not pose any significant threat to the seasoned duo. Jasprit Bumrah and his colleagues failed to exploit the conditions, save for an odd ball keeping low from the James Anderson End and another jumping from the opposite side.

Guilty of offering too many freebies on the leg side on Thursday, the Indian pacers allegedly continued to bowl loose deliveries that helped release the pressure on the England batters.

Bumrah began his day with a full ball on Root’s pads, which the England veteran flicked for a boundary. Later in the spell, both Pope and Root capitalised on short deliveries from the Indian pace spearhead, pulling them for fours with ease.

Anshul Kamboj, who had an underwhelming debut on day two, did create a chance in his opening spell, but stumper Dhruv Jurel could not hold on to a tough opportunity when Pope was on 48.

Root took a single off Mohammed Siraj in the 58th over to overtake former India captain Rahul Dravid and become the third-highest run scorer in Test history. He is expected to surpass Ricky Ponting during the course of the series. Once he does, only Sachin Tendulkar, with 15,921 runs, will remain ahead of him on the all-time list.

Washington Sundar was introduced as late as the 69th over, and Root immediately put him under pressure with a reverse-swept boundary.

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