Joe Root becomes England's leading run-getter in international cricket

Joe Root became England’s leading run-getter in international cricket on Day 1 of the opening Test between England and India. Root needed 22 runs to surpass Alastair Cook, who has retired from the game with 15,737 runs in 387 innings. The England skipper reached the score in the 33rd over of the first innings, after the hosts won the toss and opted to bat. Root surpassed Cook in his 366th inning, following a boundary off a wide half-volley by Mohammed Siraj. The England cricketer bent down on one knee, got close to the pitch of the ball before creaming the drive through cover.

Kevin Pietersen is the third-highest run-getter for England across formats, with 13,779 runs across 340 innings. Ian Bell occupies the fourth spot having scored 13,331 runs in 370 matches. Graham Gooch rounds off the top-five list with 13,190 runs in 337 innings.

Team India sideline Ravichandran Ashwin

The Indian team has opted to bench Ravichandran Ashwin for the ongoing opening Test. All-rounder Ravindra Jadeja is the only spinner in the lineup, with Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami, Shardul Thakur and Mohammed Siraj the four pacers selected. Team India skipper Virat Kohli stated that the visitors would have liked to bat as well.

“Last time England chose to bowl first here, and we would have wanted to bat first as well. We would look to get in with the ball in the first session, and a few early breakthroughs will be handy. There is a bit of a change up top, KL Rahul comes in. Our bowling combination is: Bumrah, Shami, Thakur, Siraj and Jadeja as the spinner. You could call it an accumulation of all the hardwork we have put in over the years. The opportunity to win in England and Australia in the same year is rare. To get opportunities in such times to play and play in front of crowds as well, we are grateful,” said Kohli as quoted by Cricbuzz.

Root stated the wicket looked reasonable with a little bit of movement.

“We’re going to bat first. It looks like a reasonable wicket, a little bit of movement. If we get off to a good start in the first hour, we could capitalize. Always exciting to play a big series like this. And hopefully we could perform really well. Jonny Bairstow comes back, Sam Curram comes in as well. It has been so long since we last played. Jack Leach unfortunately misses out; a very tough decision. You’ve got to pick the best team to pick 20 wickets. As you progress as a Test player, there comes the responsibility and there is an opportunity for the guys to take what Ben Stokes has left in his absence,” he stated.

Lineups:

India (Playing XI): Rohit Sharma, KL Rahul, Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli(c), Ajinkya Rahane, Rishabh Pant(w), Ravindra Jadeja, Shardul Thakur, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami, Mohammed Siraj

England (Playing XI): Rory Burns, Dominic Sibley, Zak Crawley, Joe Root(c), Jonny Bairstow, Daniel Lawrence, Jos Buttler(w), Sam Curran, Ollie Robinson, Stuart Broad, James Anderson.