Setting an example, England skipper Joe root on Saturday completed his fifth double-century in the longest format of the game as England reached 555/8 at the end of Day 2 of the first Test in Chennai. Dom Bess along with Jack Leach were present at the crease and were playing on 28 and 6 respectively.
Kicking off England’s innings from the overnight score of 263/3, Root along with premier all-rounder Ben Stokes helped the visitors maintain the upper hand in the game. The pair added 124 runs for the fourth wicket, before Stokes was removed by Shahbaz Nadeem on 82. Pope, who came after Stokes’ wicket, overcame an early period of uncertainty to stitch together a half-century stand with Root. England captain remained firm at the other end and went on to become the first cricketer to hit a double-century in his 100th Test appearance. He was dismissed on 218 by Nadeem, who finished the day with two wickets from 44 over.
For India, the experienced trio of Ishant Sharma, Jasprit Bumrah and Ashwin stuck to their task and ended the day with two wickets each. Nadeem, who took the key wickets of Root and Stokes, along with Washington Sundar could not make any impact and proved to be expensive.
