England’s batter Joe Root smashed his 31st century during the fourth Test against India, and create a new world record against the side. Arriving at the fourth Test against India he scored unbeaten 106 from 226 balls, compiled at a strike rate of 46.90 on the first day. Now he is the most century holder against India in Test cricket.
Root scored only nine boundaries en route to his 31st Test century in Ranchi. He displayed an unwavering focus without any stroke play. When debutant Akash Deep demolished the English top order, while the seasoned Joe Root single-handedly steered England through turbulence with a gritty century. A record 10 of his 31 Test centuries are against India. Here’s the list of batters with the most three-figure scores against Indian teams in the longest format:
10 – Joe Root
9 – Steven Smith
8 – Gary Sobers
8 – Viv Richards
8 – Ricky Ponting
India’s Ravichandran Ashwin also joined an elite list. He became the first Indian cricketer in history to amass 1000+ runs and claim 100 wickets against England in Test cricket. On the first day of the 4th test he got his only wicket, that of England’s Jonny Bairstow. With that wicket he reached the milestone. Ashwin becomes only the fourth player to achieve this milestone, joining with West Indies’ Gary Sobers, and Australia’s Montague Noble and George Giffen.