Chennai (Tamil Nadu) [India], February 6 (ANI): Despite scoring a mammoth score of 555/8 against India in the first Test at the MA Chidambaram Stadium on Saturday, England all-rounder Ben Stokes said that visitors are in no mood of declaring overnight, adding that they can bat for another hour tomorrow.
Root’s double ton and Stokes’ 82 helped visitors to post a gigantic score in their first innings after winning the toss on Friday. At stumps on day two, 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.
“No thoughts of what so ever of declaration tonight. We can bat for another hour tomorrow. We did not look to survive out there but we also looked to be positive the way we scored,” Stokes said in a virtual press conference after the conclusion of play on day 2.
Stokes feels that the wicket will deteriorate from here and it will not be an easy task to bowl out the hosts in both innings. “A lot of hard work will be required from the bowlers,” he stressed.
“Generally, wickets do not get any better out here in India especially when the heat plays. It gonna get dryer, it is gonna break-up and it is gonna deteriorate. Just because we have gone out there and scored some big first-innings runs does not give us the right to bowl them out twice like we hope to do. We know we still gotta lot of hard work to do as a bowling unit. It is tough to take 20 wickets,” Stokes said.
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)