Root goes past Vaughan & Kohli's 2nd innings defeat as captain

It was a completely contradictory batting performance from India on the fourth day. All the effort the Indian batsman had put up on the third day was flushed down the gutter as India were bundled out in the first session on the penultimate day of the Test. Cheteshwar Pujara didn’t trouble his overnight score and Virat Kohli added only 10 runs to his tally as India lost their last six wickets for a mere 41 runs. Oliver Robinson was the star in the second innings with a five-for while Craig Overton joined the party with three wickets.

There were few notable stats from the fourth day and here are a few of them:

Pujara in the hut without adding to his overnight score

The new ball was a threat to the Indian batsmen. But Pujara was settled and his footwork was precise on the third day. On the fourth day, to a full-length delivery which he had been scoring at over 100, Pujara decided to shoulder his arm and was out for his overnight score of 91. He became the fifth Indian batsman to not convert his overnight score of ninety into a century. The last batsman was Murali Vijay in 2013 in Durban, he could add only six suns to his overnight score of 91. In addition, he is the first among the five to be dismissed at the same score in the nineties.

Anderson bags 400 wickets at home

The marathon man of England notched up yet another record in Tests. James Anderson bagged only one wicket in the second innings, but that itself was a record. The wicket of Ajinkya Rahane was his 400th wicket in home Tests. He became the second bowler after Muttiah Muralitharan to bag 400 wickets at home. He was the first pacer to reach 300 wickets and now 400 wickets as well.

Robinson flying high

A setback after a good debut match hasn’t affected the tall bowler. Anderson and Robinson have been the perfect new-ball pair for England this series. He was the main destroyer in the second innings with a five-wicket haul. In this series alone, he has bagged 16 wickets in three matches. In total, Robinson has 23 wickets to his name in four matches. This is the most wickets for an English bowler in his first four matches in this century.

Kohli’s second loss by an innings as captain

Kohli’s run as a captain has been sensational. He has hardly been involved in defeats and even if he has, most of them have been fourth innings defeats. This was only the second defeat for him as a captain by an innings. The first one as well came against England in the 2018 tour at Lord’s. That’s not it. This was the second time India had lost after Kohli had won the toss. To worsen, this was Kohli’s sixth loss in England, which is the second joint-most for a visiting captain.

Pujara’s longevity for a century

A confident Pujara in the second innings looked like he was heading for his 19th Test century. However, a lapse of concentration in the fourth over of the fourth day led to his dismissal. This was the 35th consecutive innings batting at number three where Pujara failed to reach the three-figure mark. The 35 innings bleak run is the second most for an Indian number three bat. Ajit Wadekar from 1968 till 1974, had 39 innings without one, which is the longest gap between centuries for an Indian number three.

Joe Root equals Sir Alastair Cook

A Root century is almost a certain win for England, the Lord’s Test was the only odd case of defeat. In this match, Root registered his 23rd century. Out of those, 17 have ended up in a win and five in a draw, and one in a loss. The 17 centuries in wins is the joint-most alongside Cook for England.    

Most wins as a captain 

It is every young boy's dream to lead his country and be the most successful one. In his press conference Root admitted to this fact “I’m living my boyhood dream of captaining England and I couldn’t be prouder to have gone past Michael Vaughan”. With a win in the third Test, Root has gone past Vaughan’s tally of 26 wins as an England captain.

A rare top-order feat that led to a defeat

In the second innings, India’s top order (1-4) apart from KL Rahul, all were able to register a half-century. However, none of the three were able to convert it to a big one. Pujara was the highest scorer with 91. This was only the seventh time three or more Indian batsmen out of the top four scored a 50+ and ended up on the losing side out of 83 instances.