ENG v IND, 3rd Test: Root Makes The Way For England Before India Fights Back On Day 2

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India vs England 2021: Joe Root's yet another century saw England building its lead to 345 runs on day 2 of the 3rd test match at Headingley, Leeds. 

Resuming the day at 120/0, Burns and Hameed continued to make merry of the beautiful batting surface despite overcast conditions. The two added 135 from 303 balls before Mohammed Shami finally extracted the perfect amount of deviation off the pitch to knock off Burns' stumps. The left-handed opener scored 61 runs. 

Dawid Malan joined Hameed at the crease but the Indian bowlers suddenly found some momentum and restricted the run flow. Malan and Hameed added 24 from 78 balls before Ravindra Jadeja got some turn off the pitch to bowl the opener out for 68. 

Joe Root joined in Dawid Malan at the crease and both looked comfortable scoring runs all around the ground. Indian bowlers looked out of sorts with little to no assistance from the pitch. 

Root, who came in at number 4, reached his fifty quicker than Malan who is trying to book his place in the England Test side.
Malan after a well-made 70 ran out of luck as he got a fine edge to the keeper which even the umpire couldn't hear. Obliging Mohammed Siraj's request to review, Virat Kohli took the matter upstairs to get India a breakthrough on the last ball of the session. 

The final session of the day saw a fightback from the Indian bowlers. The session began with Jonny Bairstow joining Root in the middle. The pair added another 51 runs in 81 balls. During which, Root got his third century of the series. 

Shami gave India the breakthrough in the form of Bairstow who edged one to the slips where Virat Kohli took a low catch. The Bengal bowler removed Jos Buttler soon, who gave catching practice to the fielder at front of square leg. 

The wicket that India badly needed came after six overs with Jasprit Bumrah knocking the stumps of centurion Root. The England captain got out after scoring 121 from just 165 balls. 

In the next over, Moeen Ali tried to hit one over the top of mid-on off Jadeja but mistimed one and got caught. 

However, the wicket was still good for batting, Sam Curran and Craig Overton changed the gears and tried to score off every ball. The two added 35 runs from 51 balls before Curran was caught at deep square leg off Siraj. 

The day ended with England leading by 345 runs and two wickets still remaining. 

Brief Score: 

India - 78/10 

England - 423/8 in 129 overs (Joe Root - 121; Mohammmed Shami - 3/87)