India's sorry state of affairs at Old Trafford in Manchester prompted former England captain Mike Atherton to ask Ravi Shastri to enter the dressing room and lift them up. Shastri, a former India head coach, is renowned for being an excellent man manager. He often stirred the dressing room up with his adrenaline-pumping speeches during his tenure. Atherton felt the current Indian side, led by Shubman Gill, was in desperate need of something similar to stop England from punishing them.
Atherton made the comment when Shastri entered the commentary box as England crossed 460, stretching their first innings lead past the 100-run mark. "Go out there Ravi, your team needs a bit of motivation in the dressing room," Atherton said, welcoming Shastri into the commentary box.
Shastri agreed that were in a difficult position in the Test match. The former India all-rounder said India made a tactical mistake while picking their XI. With Anshul Kamboj and Shardul Thakur being their third and fourth seamers, the onus was always on Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj to do all the work.
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Shastri said if they had someone like Prasidh Krishna in their ranks, they could have used his pace to deploy different tactics, like bowling short balls from around the wicket.
Joe Root produced a sublime 38th Test century on Friday to propel England into a dominant position. Backed by solid contributions from Ollie Pope and captain Ben Stokes, England piled on the runs.
{{/usCountry}}Joe Root produced a sublime 38th Test century on Friday to propel England into a dominant position. Backed by solid contributions from Ollie Pope and captain Ben Stokes, England piled on the runs.
{{/usCountry}}Root was the headline act once again with a 150-run knock that saw him climb to second on the all-time list of Test run-scorers, surpassing Australia legend Ricky Ponting. Only Sachin Tendulkar now stands ahead of the 33-year-old Englishman, whose elegance and poise dismantled a lacklustre Indian bowling effort.
The day began with England resuming at 225 for two, and the morning belonged entirely to the hosts. Pope and Root continued from where they left off, extending their third-wicket partnership to 144 before Washington Sundar provided a much-needed breakthrough. Pope, who had brought up his half-century earlier in the session, was caught at slip by KL Rahul for 71 after misjudging the drift.
Sundar struck again shortly after, removing Harry Brook for just three, stumped by stand-in keeper Dhruv Jurel. But any hopes of an Indian fightback were swiftly quashed by Root and Stokes, who steadied the innings and kept the scoreboard ticking at a healthy rate.
Root’s innings was a masterclass in controlled aggression and calm under pressure. He effortlessly manoeuvred the field, played late, and found the gaps with precision. His century — brought up with a flick to fine leg off debutant Anshul Kamboj — was his 38th in Tests, equalling Sri Lanka great Kumar Sangakkara.
India's bowling, by contrast, continued to disappoint. Jasprit Bumrah lacked rhythm, offering loose deliveries early in the day, while Mohammed Siraj and Kamboj failed to maintain consistent pressure. A couple of half-chances — including a failed LBW review and a missed run-out — came and went, but overall India lacked the intensity required to match England's intent.
Root’s rise past the likes of Rahul Dravid, Jacques Kallis, and Ponting on the all-time runs chart underscored his greatness.