ROOT Joe arrows in on a 180

JOE ROOT lorded it over India as he rewrote history with another monumental innings.

England were eventually bowled out for 391, with Root still standing firm on

180 not out.

The England captain hit back-toback hundreds for the second time in

2021 to continue his incredible run so far this year.

Root had previously been criticised for his inability to turn 50s into threefigure scores.

Now he’s doing it with ease – racking up five of them since January.

With six Tests still to come in 2021 – three against India and three in Australia – he could smash the record for the most runs in a calendar year.

That is held by Pakistan’s Mohammad Yousuf, who scored 1,788 runs in 2006. With 1,244 already in the bank, Root could sail past that total before the year is out.

During this perfectly judged innings, he also brought up the milestone of

9,000 Test runs, becoming the second youngest player to achieve the feat behind Alastair Cook.

Having helped earn England a 27run lead, though, the captain will be more concerned with giving England a chance of winning their first home Test of the summer and ending their dismal run. As well as getting points on the board in the second edition of the World Test Championship.

Root’s century partnership with Jonny Bairstow helped turn the game in England’s favour in front of packed Saturday crowd. Bairstow was eventually caught at slip for 57 after gloving a bouncer to Virat Kohli at slip.

But given the lack of red-ball cricket he has played in recent years, it’s little wonder he has been happy with his efforts in this series so far.

Saturday, though, was all about Root – and when asked what the captain means to this England team, he didn’t hold back.

“A heck of a lot, like he does to English cricket,” said Bairstow. “To go into second place in the history of leading runscorers in the English game is very special.

“To pass 9,000 runs in this game is extremely special. To score another 180 not out at Lord’s, I run out of superlatives.”

The platform laid by the Yorkshire pair enabled England to build the kind of score that has been beyond them for most of the year.

In their past seven Tests, England have only twice posted scores of over 300.

But the Indian bowlers did not threaten for the first two sessions as England edged towards India’s first innings score. Root put on 44 with Jos Buttler and 58 with Moeen

Ali, to leave the game on a knife edge with two days to go.