Joe
Root brought up his third double century in Tests, helping his side to 476 in
the first innings of the second Test against New Zealand in Hamilton.
England
captain Joe Root brought up his third double century in Tests, helping his side
to 476 in the first innings of the second Test against New Zealand in Hamilton.
Root scored 226 runs, equalling Kevin Pieterson’s record on the way.
Root
shared a 193-run sixth-wicket partnership with Ollie Pope, which was his second
partnership in excess of 100 runs in the innings, after he combined with Rory
Burns (101) in a 177-run third-wicket stand.
This
was his third double century in Tests, following his 254 against Pakistan in
2016, and his 200 not out against Sri Lanka at Lord’s in 2014, which was his
first as captain. Root matched Kevin Pietersen’s record of three double
centuries, but is behind Walter Hammond and Alastair Cook, both of whom reached
the milestone five times for England.
The 28-year old resurrected England from 24-2 to
458-7 in an innings that lasted 635 minutes (over 10 hours), during which he
faced 441 balls. Root finally got out about 30 minutes before tea.
Root
also topped the record for most runs a captain has scored against New Zealand:
Joe
Root – 226
Sachin Tendulkar – 217
Virat Kohli – 211
Allan Border – 205
Hanif Mohammed – 203*
Chris Gayle – 197
Root
slammed his first Test hundred after nine months and 15 innings on Sunday. He
last scored a century against the West Indies in February.
New
Zealand won the first Test at Bay Oval in Mt Maunganui by an innings and 65
runs, but heavy rain is forecast for Hamilton on Tuesday, the fifth day. While
there has been some uneven bounce, the pitch has proved easy to bat on.
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