Joe Root breaks record of Most Test Centuries against India as he notches up his 31st Test ton in Ranchi

Joe Root is England’s best batter of the modern era and he once again proved that he is the backbone of England’s Test batting line-up by notching up his 31st test century in the 3rd Test against India at Ranchi. England were reeling at 112-5 with debutant Akash Deep wreaking havoc by picking up the initial three England wickets.

Soon, Ashwin and Jadeja chipped in and pushed England into a precarious position at 112 for 5, but then it was all a Joe Root show as contrary to the much talked about ‘Bazball’ approach, he played a typical test knock and grinded himself to end the day at 106 not out off 226 balls with a strike rate of close to 47.

Joe Root was going through a rough patch in recent times as he scored only 77 runs in the 6 innings he played in the tour so far before the fourth test at a poor average of 12.83. There were talks of ‘Bazball’ affecting the veteran batter’s performance in Tests and whether he should go back to his normal playing style to get his mojo back.

Joe Root adopted the same approach with which he scored bucketloads of runs in the past in the Ranchi test and it worked wonders for him as he scored his first ton after 14 innings since the last one against Australia in June 2023.

Joe Root’s record galore against India

Root has a special liking for the Indian bowling attack as it is his 10 Test ton against India which is the most by any batter surpassing another modern-day legend, Steve Smith. It is Joe Root’s first century on Indian soil after the last ton in Chennai in 2021 which he converted into a double hundred.

Joe Root’s liking for Indian bowlers can be ascertained by the fact that also surpassed Ricky Ponting to score the most runs against India in tests. He also has the most number of half-centuries against India in tests which only shows his domination over India throughout his career.