Chennai (Tamil Nadu) [India], February 6 (ANI): England all-rounder Ben Stokes on Saturday heaped praises on his captain Joe Root, who scored a double ton, and said he plays the spin best among all English batters.
Root’s double ton and Stokes’ 82 helped visitors to post a mammoth score on day two of the first Test against India at the MA Chidambaram Stadium on Saturday.
At stumps on day two in the first Test, England’s score read 555/8 in 180 overs with Dom Bess and Jack Leach still at the crease on 28 and 6 runs respectively.
“He makes us all feel pretty rubbish, how easy he makes batting look. I was quite surprised he run down the wicket and scored the six to bring out the double. He is in phenomenal form, just making things look very very easy. The way he dominates spin is incredible to watch. I do not think we had an England batsman ever who plays spin like he does. He got an answer and an option to everything thrown at him. He is just a delight to watch at the moment,” Stokes said in a virtual press conference after the conclusion of play on day 2.
Commenting on his knock Stokes said: “It is nice to come back in with a bit time off and spending some time out in the middle. We are in a very strong position as a team after putting ourselves in scoring above 500 with still two wickets remaining going to day three.”
In the final session, India bagged four wickets including the much-awaited dismissal of Root (218). Visitors resumed the third session from 454/4 with Root and Ollie Pope continued their partnership for the fifth wicket. The duo stitched an 86-run partnership before spinner Ravichandran Ashwin dismissed Pope (34) in the 153rd over.
Jos Buttler joined skipper Root in the middle but spinner Shahbaz Nadeem, in the 154th over, removed the latter and brought the hosts back in the game. Root departed after playing a record-breaking knock of 218 runs in his 100th Test. He became the first batsman in the history of Test cricket to score a double century in his 100th Test.
Root also registered the highest score for a player playing in his 100th Test, breaking the record of former Pakistan skipper Inzamam-ul-Haq to achieve this feat. He also surpassed Mike Gatting (207) to post the highest individual score for an English batsman in India. Root has now scored five double centuries in Test cricket; only Wally Hammond has posted more for England (7).
Buttler and Dominic Bess kept the scoreboard moving and added 48-run for the seventh wicket before Ishant Sharma picked the former in the 170th over. Buttler was departed after scoring 30 runs. In the same over, Ishant sent Jofra Archer back to the pavilion on a duck on the next ball.
Spinner Jack Leach and Bess continue the scoreboard ticking and managed to add an unbeaten 30-run for the ninth wicket. Before the conclusion of play on day two, Rohit Sharma dropped Bess (19) in the 175th over off Washinton Sundar.
Indian bowlers struggled to find a rhythm as they bowled 19 no-balls in the game. Bumrah and Nadeem bowled six no-balls each while Ishant bowled five and Ashwin delivered two no-balls. (ANI)