Joe Root will become the 14th England cricketer to represent his country in 100 Test matches when he takes the field in the opening match of the four-Test series against India at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai on February 5.
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The current England skipper, who made his debut against India in Nagpur during the 2012 tour, is coming into the series on the back of some outstanding performances.
Root led his team from the front with match-winning knocks of 228 and 186 in the first and second Tests as England inflicted 2-0 whitewash over Sri Lanka during the recently held away series.
In an exclusive chat with The Hindu, Root spoke about the milestone and how it all began in India in 2012.
“It's great to come full circle and be back here [in India]. The way it started on that first tour in 2012, it was a real eye-opener for me, learning to play spin, playing with some great players and strong opposition. To come back to Chennai and play my 100th Test is very special. I can’t wait,” he said.
Root has played 6 Tests in India, scoring 584 runs at an impressive average of 53.09 with 1 hundred and 5 fifties.
Sharing his experience of batting in India, the England captain said: “You’ve got to be prepared to bat for long periods. When you get in, especially in the first innings, you've got to really make it count. That’s what we’ll be aiming to do. Hopefully, we can stay in the game for as long as possible and take every Test deep against a quality side.”
“You've got to be patient, especially as an English player when you are used to playing mainly against seam. You've got to be accepting [of the fact that] the ball will turn and pass the bat. You're allowed to get it wrong on occasions, but you've got to stay calm and be quite clear about where you're going to score your runs. I think it's really important to be able to trust your defence and also have clarity of where you want to score your boundaries,” he explained.
England have struggled to pick 20 wickets in the past but Root is confident of better bowling performance from his side against India.
“In the past we have struggled to take 20 wickets, especially away from home. But I think we've discovered a way of doing that (take 20 wickets). We've also become more consistent and we make big first innings runs. We have now gone six or seven times past the 400 mark in the last 12 or so Tests, which is a great achievement and something that we need to keep doing if we're going to seriously compete in away conditions.”
Commenting on his team, Root said: “We've got a very ambitious group of players who are willing to learn and want to get better all the time. We are open to new thinking and learning from other sides and players who have had success in similar conditions."
