Root and Brook add to Pakistan’s misery in Day 2 leather hunt as reply to Pakistan’s 556 in their first innings.
Root and Brook combine in spectacular fashion as England fancy themselves of getting a lead at the end of Day 2.
It was always going to take something exceptional from England after spending the better part of two days in the dirt to respond to Pakistan’s massive first-innings score of 556. They not only responded forcefully, trailing by just 64 at the close of the third day of this first Test on 492 for 3, but they did so in a way that was historically significant.
After surpassing Sir Alastair Cook’s record of 12,473 runs and reaching his 35th Test hundred, Joe Root emerged as England’s most run scorer in Test cricket. With his fourth century against Pakistan in as many matches, Root continued where he left off with a Player-of-the-Series effort on the 2022 tour of that country. It was typical of him to be quiet and busy with just 12 fours, set against Harry Brook’s exuberant 141* off 173 deliveries.
This is actually Root’s first time on these shores. He was the last England batsman to accomplish that record, three years ago against Sri Lanka, and it has happened after spending the entire day at the crease. As a result, he has missed just eight deliveries out of the 250 overs played in this match thus far.
It makes sense why he had cramps during the latter portion of the day. After England resumed on Wednesday with 96 for 1, having gone to the crease on Tuesday after stand-in captain Ollie Pope was dismissed with just four wickets made, he will lay down his guard on Thursday morning with his side holding all the cards.
In English cricket, as it has been for the past twelve years, Root has been the constant. Day three began with him at 32. Fifteen minutes before lunch, he made the last climb to the top of the England run scorers’ pile when, at 67, he leaned into another compact drive for four to move on to 12,473 lifetime runs, surpassing Cook.
With a reverse sweep off his 167th ball, he reached a clean hundred and his fifth century of 2024. Following 2021 and 2022, it was his third strike in a calendar year. The only players to hit five or more Test hundreds in multiple calendar years were Matthew Hayden (four) and Ricky Ponting (four).
It summed up a terrible day for Pakistan, who gave up 4.83 an over in the 82 overs they played today, watching helplessly as their first innings performance was made to look inadequate. A significant first innings lead seems expected with Jamie Smith in the wings and Root and Brook having had a night off.