Third Test, day two: Root completes hat-trick of tons as England build huge lead at Headingley

England captain Joe Root’s third hundred in as many Tests against India took his side closer to a series-levelling win at the Yorkshire batsman’s Headingley home ground on Thursday.

Root’s 121 – his third century in as many matches this series – was the centrepiece of England’s 423/8 at stumps on the second day of the third Test as they established a huge first-innings lead of 345 after dismissing India for just 78 on Wednesday.

His latest hundred saw Root join Denis Compton (1947) and Michael Vaughan (2002) as the only England batsmen to score six Test centuries in a calendar year, with the all-time record of nine, set by Pakistan’s Mohammed Yousuf in 2006, now in his sights.

Live blog: England vs India, day two of the third Test

A player at the height of his powers: Reactions to Root’s masterful ton at Headingley

And on a day when England mourned the death of former captain Ted Dexter, one of their most stylish batsmen, at the age of 86, Root’s 23rd Test century featured several textbook shots that would have met with the approval of ‘Lord Ted’.

With openers Rory Burns (61) and Haseeb Hameed (68), as well as recalled No 3 Dawid Malan (70) making half-centuries, this was the…

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