Skipper Joe Root scored his 20th test century in the first test against India in Chennai. England have won the toss and elected to bat in the opening Test of the series that began on Friday. Root who became the the 15th cricketer to play 100 Tests for England is in the form of his life as he had amassed close to 400 runs in Sri Lanka. In the recent Test series against Sri Lanka last month, Root had led his side by example scoring 228 and 186 as they clinched the series 2-0. The right-handed batsman made his Test debut against India in 2012. Prior to this game, Root has scored 8,249 runs in Test cricket including 19 centuries and 49 half-centuries.
He is the fourth-highest Test scorer for England, only behind former captain Alastair Cook (12,472 runs), Graham Gooch (8,900 runs) and Alec Stewart (8,463 runs). Root received his 100th cap from all-rounder Ben Stokes. England assistant batting coach Graham Thorpe had said that Root is a great student of the game who is focused on scoring more runs and improving his game. Resuming on 67/2 after a bit of a wobble just before lunch, both Sibley and skipper Joe Root batted beautifully in the second session, keeping India bowlers at bay. In a mix of caution and aggression, Sibley played smartly and got to his fifty off 159 balls. The morning session witnessed a very intriguing session of play which first saw the domination from England openers and then the fightback from India towards the end. After dominating for almost an hour and a half, England lost their way towards the end of the session, with Rory Burns (33) first throwing his wicket away and then Daniel Lawrence (0) getting trapped in front of his stumps by a Jasprit Bumrah thunderbolt.
