Joe Root admits ‘it was good to give us a chance’ after England captain’s impressive century ensured there’s plenty still to play for in the opening Test of the series with India
- Joe Root was delighted to give England a chance of success versus India
- Root hit his 21st Test hundred but India require 157 runs to secure victory
- England captain Root dismissed suggestions that it was a one-man show
Joe Root beat his chest and roared back at the ovation from a full Trent Bridge — but if the acknowledgement from the stands was for a one-man show, the England captain refused to indulge in it.
Root’s 21st Test hundred not only kept his team in with a shout of a turnaround victory, it took his tally of runs for 2021 to 1064, more than 700 clear of his nearest team-mate Dan Lawrence.
‘I really enjoyed the atmosphere within the ground. The five to 10 minutes leading into the hundred was quite hairy, there were a couple of big lbw shouts, so there was a lot of relief in that respect,’ Root said of his celebration, which included an acknowledgement of his wife Carrie.
Joe Root stated that ‘it felt very good’ to give England a chance of winning against India
‘In the context of the game, it felt very good to get us into a position where we have a chance of winning the Test match.’
For some, the onus on scoring the bulk of the team’s runs in addition to orchestrating its tactics would hang heavy, but Root insisted it was not wearing him down.
‘I am just going out there to score as many runs as I can, and so is everyone else,’ he said.
‘They are doing everything they can to move this team forward and post big totals. We are going through quite a rough patch at the minute, but it’s certainly not down to a lack of effort.
Root’s impressive 21st Test hundred saw him increase his tally of runs for 2021 to 1064
England have been given hope but India require 157 runs if they are to secure victory
‘There are some strong characters in that dressing room and they’re going to have to be strong characters because we’ve got to keep looking to get better.’
As it is, England head into the final day requiring nine wickets for their first Test win since February. India require 157 runs to make it four Test victories in a row against Root’s men this year.
‘As always you’d like more runs to play with, there’s no doubt about that, but as we’ve seen wickets have fallen in clusters in this game and it is flipped on its head,’ he added.
‘There are definitely nine chances out there, and we just have to make sure those runs last as long as possible — ask good hard questions of their defences for long periods of time and take our chances. The belief will be there and we have to throw everything at it.’