IND vs ENG: Joe Root says England looking to make '600-700' in first innings

The England captain was undefeated on 128 which propelled his side to a favourable position after the opening day of the first Test against India in Chennai.

Joe Root marked his 100th Test with a brilliant first-day century.

Joe Root, who celebrated his 100th Test match with a brilliant unbeaten 128 on Friday, said his team would look to score as many as 600-700 runs in the first innings. In 2016, in the final Test in Chennai, England made 477 and still lost by an innings and 75 runs after India made 759 for 7 declared.

 

"We've got to look to try and get as many as we can - 600, 700 if we can, really try and make the most of the first innings while it's good," Root said. "Those footholes are starting to wear quite quickly. So, if we can bat the whole of tomorrow and maybe into day three, then things could speed up quite quickly for us and you never know what can happen from that point onwards."

 

"But ultimately we've got to try and back up today," he added. "It's been a really impressive start to things. But we've got to make it count and that's going to be the challenge for this team. We need to bat long periods of time in these conditions. That's all the focus will be on going into tomorrow."

Speaking about his own performance, the 30-year-old said, "I'm in some good form and I need to make sure I cash in on it," Root said. "Over the course of my career, I've not always gone on and made really big scores, so to be doing that currently is really pleasing."