Manchester, July 25 (IANS) With the precision of a surgeon and the composure of an artist, Joe Root overtook Jacques Kallis, Rahul Dravid and Ricky Ponting to be at second place in all-time Test run-scorers’ list by hitting 121 not out as England entered into taking the all-important lead against India on day three of fourth Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy Test at Old Trafford on Friday.

With his 38th Test century coming off 178 balls, Root is now equal with Kumar Sangakkara, with only Tendulkar, Ponting and Kallis ahead of him in terms of all-time century scorers in Tests. Amidst Root climbing new milestones, it was a session where England amassed 101 runs for the loss of two wickets to be at 433/4 in 102 overs and take a 75-run lead over a shaky India.

It wasn’t ideal for India that Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj had to go off the field at times due to ankle concerns, though the former did come back to the field. Washington Sundar struck after the lunch break as Ollie Pope looked to guide the spinner through the leg-side, but got a thick edge behind and KL Rahul took a good catch at slip to dismiss the batter for 71, thus ending his 144-run stand with Root.

India’s decision to not take the new ball and persist with Washington paid off when he got the ball to dip away from Harry Brook in the air, leaving the batter stranded and substitute keeper Dhruv Jurel completed the stumping to dismiss him for just three. Root and Ben Stokes (36 not out) hitting boundaries meant England finally got into taking the all-important lead.

After spending 18 balls in the 90s, a clip down the leg-side off Kamboj on the first ball of 96th over brought up Root’s second century of the ongoing series and 12th ton against India. He soaked up the loud applause from the crowd shouting ‘ROOOOT’ around Old Trafford.

The opportunity for the crowd to applaud and shout in Root’s praise came in the 101st over when Root guided Anshul Kamboj for a single behind point and go past Ponting to become the second-highest all-time run-scorer in Tests. With the unbroken partnership between Root and Stokes standing at 84, England will be aiming to extend the lead more and pile more misery on India’s weary bowling attack.

Brief Scores: India 358 in 114.1 overs (B Sai Sudharsan 61; Ben Stokes 5-72) trail England 433/4 in 102 overs (Joe Root 121 not out, Ben Duckett 94; Washington Sundar 2-30, Anshul Kamboj 1-89) by 75 runs

–IANS

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