Joe Root inks history as he becomes second England spinner to open bowling in first innings of Test

The second Test between India and England is now underway at the Dr. Y.S. Rajashekar Reddy ACA-VDCA Cricket Stadium. India has won the toss and decided to bat first.

Jack Leach became England’s first spinner when he bowled the first over against Pakistan in 2022. In the first Test match against India at Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Hyderabad, England batted first and scored 246 runs, with Ben Stokes the only England player to score a fifty. Ravindra Jadeja and R Ashwin each grabbed three wickets in the innings.

In the second innings, England overcame India’s 190-run advantage and scored 420 runs, as Ollie Pope scored a superb knock of 196 runs from 278 balls. India failed to chase down a mark of 230, with spinners Tom Hartley and Joe Root picking up eight wickets each.

Root has been superb with the ball in this series, taking five wickets in the first match to help England defeat India by 28 runs.

Joe Root becomes England’s highest-ranked Test all-rounder

James Anderson started the bowling for the England team, while Joe Root, opened from the opposite end. Root made history with the ball, becoming only the second England spinner in 102 years, after Jack Leach, to start the bowling in the first innings of a Test match. Ahead of the second Test match, Jack Leach will not be part of playing XI due to a knee injury.

For England, former captain Joe Root has been an important all-rounder. Till now Joe Root has smashed 11,445 runs while taking 65 wickets from 137 Test games he also has one five-fifer.

Joe Root surpassed Ben Stokes to become England’s highest-ranked Test all-rounder. Root is fourth on the rankings, while Stokes, who was out due to a knee injury, has dropped to fifth place. In addition to setting records with the ball, Root allowed his bat to speak for itself. The 33-year-old surpassed Sachin Tendulkar to become the top run-getter in the India-England Test series.