IND vs ENG, 1st Test: Joe Root scores century in 100th Test

India vs England, 1st Test, Day 1: Joe Root and Dom Sibley held the ends together after the visitor lost two wickets in the first session.

Published : Feb 05, 2021 16:00 IST

England captain Joe Root celebrates after scoring his hundred against India during day one of the first of four Tests at the M. A. Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai.

England captain Joe Root continued his terrific run of form with a century against India in his 100th Test on Friday.

After the visiting side lost Daniel Lawrence for a duck at 63/2, the job of rebuilding fell on Root and opener Dom Sibley, who stitched together a century stand to hand England the advantage in the second and third sessions of play at the M. A. Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai.

Root, 30, was earlier presented a special cap by all-rounder Ben Stokes to commemorate his landmark Test.

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The Yorkshire batsman, playing his seventh Test in India, has now made at least one fifty in each of those outings since his debut in December 2012.

Joe Root after scoring his fifty.
 

The ton at Chepauk was his 20th in the longest format of the game, with three of those having come in his last three appearances (228 vs SL, 186 vs SL, 100* vs IND). This is the first time in history that a cricketer has scored a century in his 98th, 99th and 100th Test.

Batsmen who scored a century in their 100th Test - Colin Cowdrey (ENG) - Javed Miandad (PAK) - Gordon Greenidge (WI) - Alec Stewart (ENG) - Inzamam-ul-Haq (PAK) - Ricky Ponting (AUS) - Graeme Smith (SA) - Hashim Amla (SA) - Joe Root (ENG)

On the eve of the Chepauk Test, India skipper Virat Kohli had congratulated his English counterpart, saying, "A big congratulations to Joe! Playing 100 Tests is no small achievement and he can be very proud of this journey. I have good memories of watching Joe come on to the international scene... He's someone who has really become that face of England's batting over the years."

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Root, additionally, became the second-youngest to play 100 Tests for England after former captain Alastair Cook. He is only the 15th Englishman to win 100 red-ball international caps.