Root’s century gives England hope before washout sees 1st Test drawn

Joe Root’s magnificent century was the highlight of an action-packed day four at Trent Bridge before a downpour saw the first test end in a draw.

The England captain hit his 21st Test century off just 154 deliveries as the hosts looked to recover from their first-innings disappointment and set India a stiff total to chase down in spite of the rain.

Once again, there was pressure on Root to score big with England at 46-2, but from the third ball he faced, which was elegantly driven through the covers, the Yorkshireman looked in fine touch and stood up to the potent Indian attack when needed.

Rory Burns (18) and Dom Sibley began the day at the crease as the hosts looked to move on from their recent top-order woes. However, Burns would only face 10 balls before succumbing to a well-angled delivery from Mohammed Siraj.

Calls for Zak Crawley to be omitted from the lineup will continue to grow ever louder with the Kent batsman falling for just six.

While Root raced to 25 from just 30 deliveries after finding the rope on four occasions, Sibley faced almost 100 balls before reaching the same figure as he looked to grind out runs in typical fashion.

The skipper brought up a classy 50 off just 68 balls as he put on a partnership of 89 with the Warwickshire batsman.

Sibley was eventually undone for 28 after trying to play a rare attacking shot outside off-stump. Rishabh Pant took an impressive catch to his left after Bumrah’s back-of-a-length ball caught the inside edge.

Alongside long-term teammate Jonny Bairstow, who narrowly avoided being pinned LBW by Siraj following a strong appeal, Root continued to pile on the runs by dominating spin and nailing textbook drives off the front foot.

Despite averaging seven in the reverse series, Bairstow looked in good touch for his 30 and channelled his aggressive nature well prior to picking out Ravi Jadeja at deep-square with a pull shot.

Dan Lawrence (25) and Jos Buttler (17) both played with similar attacking intent but failed to convert their starts into big scores to leave England at 237/6.

It was fitting that Root brought up his 100 with an eye-catching on-drive that sparked wild celebrations both on the field and in the stands.

He was eventually out for 109 as Bumrah made the breakthrough with the new ball.

Sam Curran (32) and Ollie Robinson (15) steered their side towards 300 before Bumrah took two wickets in as many balls.

India made a positive start to their chase of 209, though Stuart Broad removed KL Rahul with a terrific ball.

The weather obviously prevented an enthralling final day’s play of test cricket, but Virat Kohli will be buoyed with his side’s performance with both bat and ball.

Root though will be concerned with yet another batting collapse in the first innings and England’s over-reliance on himself.

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