Fifties by Malan and Root put England on driver’s seat at end of Day three
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In recent times, Joe Root has been one of those batters who rescues his side from difficult situations. He did so in India; when everyone around him was struggling on those tipsy turvy subcontinent wickets, Root was sweeping the bowlers to the trenches.
Once again the stage was set for a masterful Root inning in the Gabba test and the English captain did not disappoint as he played a masterful inning of 89 runs to put his side back in the driving seat.
After a testing day two at the Gabba test, England made a remarkable comeback to spice up the competition on the third day. When Travis Head was smoking every bowler left and right on the third session of the second day, it felt as if this was going to be one of those where Australia would dominate completely. But England had other ideas on the third day.
England removed the Australian tail first thing in the morning. Travis Head played another blistering knock in the morning but was dismissed at last. Australia’s hope of getting a 300-run lead also ended with his inning.
Despite a good start by Hameed, England was reduced to 61 for 2 in the second session. The Australian attack led by their captain Cummins was very potent until Joe Root and Malan decided to stick to their guns and played a sensible inning to rebuild their team’s inning from where the openers left it.
Both Root and Malan looked to be in a formidable touch in the second inning. They attacked both the spinner and pacer alike. They picked up the right shots and right areas as well. Never in their shot selections did they look quizzical regarding their approach. As a result, the duo added more than 150 runs between them.
A fantastic 💯 partnership between @root66 and @djmalan29! 👏https://t.co/LfCBcHll5a#Ashes | 🇦🇺 #AUSvENG 🏴 pic.twitter.com/76PQNMPojl
— England Cricket (@englandcricket) December 10, 2021
In the process of doing so, both the batters scored their half-centuries as well. With the 8th fifty of the calendar year, Root now has the most significant 50s in Test Cricket this year. He also became the highest-scoring Englishman in a Calendar year. He has 1500+ runs against his name this year. Graeme Smith holds the record of the highest total run scored in a calendar year; he scored 1656 runs in 2008. With two matches to go after the Gabba test, Root has all the chances in the world to make the record his own.
England ends day three at 220 for 2. They trail by 58 runs in the match.
