England ended day 2 with a lead of 85 runs and will hope that the partnership between Jos Buttler and Root will help the team consolidate their posistion at Old Trafford.
Joe Root has been a consistent performer in Tests at home, aggregating 1181 (ave.59.05) in 13 Tests. His performance in Tests this year is also superb, amassing 599 in only six Tests at an average of 85.57, including two centuries and two fifties. Root enjoys an impressive record against India - his tally being 433 in five Tests at an average of 86.60, including a century and three fifties.
Bhuvneshwar Kumar has claimed 18 wickets (ave.21.77) in the series, sharing a record for most wickets in a Test series for India against England in England. Zaheer Khan had taken 18 (ave.20.33) wickets in three Tests in 2007. Kumar’s average and the strike rate of 47.6 are his best in a Test series. His aforesaid tally includes two five—wicket hauls — one each at Nottingham and Lord’s.
Varun Aaron (3/48) has recorded his best bowling performance in Tests, surpassing the 3 for 106 vs West Indies vs West Indies at Mumbai in November 2011.
Ian Bell (58 off 82 balls) has posted his 42nd Test fifty — his fourth vs India. His record at Old Trafford is superb, amassing 608 at an average of 76.00 in seven Tests. Bell’s above aggregate includes two hundreds and five fifties. Among the batsmen with six innings or more at Old Trafford, Bell’s average is the third highest — the highest is 83.20 by Allan Border while totalling 416 in seven innings. During the last five years, Bell has managed 4081 (ave.50.38) in 56 Tests. His 35 innings of fifty or more during the last five years is an England record - 13 hundreds and 22 fifties.
Published - August 09, 2014 10:02 am IST
