India vs England, Joe Root smashes double-century: Records broken
England cricket team skipper Joe Root smashed a fifth double-century in Test cricket and a first against India in the ongoing first Test in Chennai. The senior batsman resumed Day 2 on 128* and converted his 20th Test ton into a sublime double-century. Root shared a brilliant century-plus stand alongside Ben Stokes to deflate the Indian bowlers. Here are the records broken.
A look at Root's five career double centuries
Root had hit his first double-century against Sri Lanka in June 2014 (200* at Lord's). He registered a 254-run knock next against Pakistan in July 2016 in Manchester. His next feat came against New Zealand in 2019 (226 in Hamilton). Recently, he racked up 228 against Sri Lanka in Galle. And now, he has smashed his maiden 200-plus score against India.
Three scores of 150-plus for Root in three successive Tests
Root has been amongst the runs of late. He scored 228 and 186 against Sri Lanka in the two-Test series and has now scored another double-century to make it three scores of 150-plus in three consecutive Tests. Meanwhile, 10 of Root's 20 career Test hundreds have been 150 or more. Notably, the scores of his last four Test 100s read: 226, 228, 186, 201*.
Second Englishman to register five double centuries
Root became the second Englishman to register five double centuries, equaling Alastair Cook's feat. Wally Hammond leads the tally for England with seven double tons. Root has also equaled Graeme Smith and Rahul Dravid's tally of five double centuries in Test cricket.
Notable records scripted by Root after 20th Test hundred
On Friday, Root went on to surpass the 1,500-run mark against India in Test cricket. It was his fifth Test ton against Team India. Root, now has 20 Test centuries under his belt, and has equaled the likes of former England stalwarts Graham Gooch and Ken Barrington (20 each). Root has five centuries in Asia now. He has nine Test centuries as captain.
Root finds able support from Stokes
England resumed with their overnight score of 263/3 on Day 2. All-rounder Stokes joined his captain Root in the middle and the two scored freely to put pressure on India. Root continued from where he left off on Day 1 and found the support needed from Stokes, who smashed 82 from 118 deliveries. Their 124-run stand helped England dominate the show on Day 2.
Unique record scripted by Root
From 2012 to 2020, Joe Root faced 300+ balls in a Test innings on three occasions. He's now done it three times in the last 18 days.
Root scripts this feat in Test cricket
This was Root's third 150+ score in consecutive Tests, joint-second-most along with Wally Hammond (1928-29), Don Bradman (1937), Zaheer Abbas (1982-93), Mudassar Nazar (1983), Tom Latham (2018-19). Notably, Kumar Sangakkara (2007) leads the tally with four such scores.
Highest individual score for an England captain in India
According to Cricbuzz, this is now the highest individual score for an England captain in India. In all India-England Test matches, the only English captain to score more is Graham Gooch (333 at Lord's, 1990)
