Joe Root has been in exceptional form over the last couple of years. He is making runs at will and was the leading run-scorer last year in Test matches. He proved once again why he is currently ranked the No. 1 batsman in the ICC Test rankings. In the fifth and final rescheduled Test match against India at Edgbaston, the former English skipper brought up yet another century.
He has now scored his fourth century of the ongoing five-match Test series. Notably, he has also surpassed modern-day greats like Virat Kohli and Steve Smith. These two players have 27 centuries in red-ball cricket to their name. But now, Joe Root has the most centuries among the current cricketers in the game.
A modern-day Great – Joe Root, what an unbelievable consistency since 2021.pic.twitter.com/bZdu696ibQ
— Johns. (@CricCrazyJohns) July 5, 2022Advertisement
Notably, he is now leading the “fab four” comprising of Joe Root, Virat Kohli, Steve Smith, and Kane Williamson. Root has already scored five centuries in 2022, while he scored 11 centuries in 2021.
Speaking of the match, England chased down the mammoth total of 378 in 76.4 overs and won the match by seven wickets. Apart from Root, Jonny Bairstow, who scored a century in the first innings, continued his form and scored yet another unbeaten century in the second innings as well.
Root remained unbeaten on 142* off 173 balls, while Bairstow was not out on 114* runs. With this chase, England have now registered their highest run-chase ever in the history of Test cricket. They have also become the first team to chase four successive totals of 275+ in four back-to-back matches.
India came into this match with a lead of 2-1 in the series, in the hope of winning the test series on English soil after 2007. But the English team showed their real character and chased down the target in the way they are known for. The “Baz Ball” style has now proved that England can do anything on the cricket field.
