Joe Root was grit personified as he shelved all innovations to score his 31st Test hundred that pulled England out of a hole and helped the visitors finish the first day of the fourth Test here at 302/7.
Akash Deep made a memorable debut, knocking back Ben Duckett, Ollie Pope and Zak Crawley with 57 runs on the board before Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja chimed in for two more but Root built three vital partnerships - 52 off 57 balls with Jonny Bairstow, 113 off 261 with Ben Foakes and an unbeaten 57-run stand with Ollie Robinson to keep England in the Test and in the series. From 112/5 to 302/7, England can only hope to cross at least 350 on a pitch that has shown far less demons than its appearance had promised.
Any moisture that was present in the first hour of the day was exploited well by Deep as he made the ball dip dangerously into the right-handers. A no-ball denied Deep what could have been a show-stopping first Test wicket when he bowled Zak Crawley through the gates but he got him again in the 12th over with a similar ball that beat his inside edge. This was after Deep had already removed Ben Duckett and Ollie Pope in the space of three balls, pushing England towards the brink.
If Deep was the protagonist of the first session, the second and third belonged to Root, leading to an enthralling brand of cricket. For the first time, England didn't throw it all away.
This story is from the February 24, 2024 edition of Hindustan Times.
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This story is from the February 24, 2024 edition of Hindustan Times.
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