Third Test: England 423-8 at stumps on day 2, extend lead by 345 runs
Leeds, Aug 26: Joe Root stamped his authority over the Indian bowling attack with a third masterful hundred in as many games, putting England in a dominant position on day two of the second Test here on Thursday.
Though India won at Lord's, they were not able to trouble Root (121 off 165) and the England skipper extended his purple patch with his 23rd Test hundred and sixth of the year to take his team to a commanding 423 for eight at stumps on day two.
England now lead by 345 runs.
After openers Rory Burns (61 off 153) and Haseeb Hameed (68 off 195) gave England the start they were desperately looking for, Root and Dawid Malan (70 off 128) shared a brisk 139-run stand off 189 balls to pile misery on the Indians who were all out for 78 on day one.
Root as usual was a delight to watch, scoring runs at will and all around the wicket. His 14 boundaries included his trademark punch through the cover, which brought about his fifty before he flicked one between mid on and midwicket to get to three figures.
Such was the range on offer that he also swept and reverse swept left-arm spinner Ravindra Jadeja. Barring Mohammed Shami, the Indian pacers had another ordinary day and Root made them pay for their erratic line and length.
With his 23rd hundred, Root equalled Kevin Pietersen's record and is now only behind Alastair Cook (33).
Jasprit Bumrah managed to get one past Root's watertight defence late in the final session to end a memorable innings in front of his home crowd. India managed to pick five wickets in the session but the damage had already been done.
Malan, playing his first Test in three years, lent much needed solidity in an otherwise struggling line-up. With the confidence that the southpaw played, it didn't seem that he was away from the five-day game for a long time.
India find themselves thrown in at the deep end and will have to bat extremely well to first avoid an innings defeat and then save the game from there on.
The pitch has dried out and Indian pacers failed to get purchase out of it for the second day running.
Earlier, runs came thick and fast for England in the afternoon session as India bowlers appeared toothless, both with old and new ball. The hosts added 116 runs in the session with Root and Malan collecting runs comfortably.
Against the run of play, Malan picked up a faint edge while trying to flick Mohammad Siraj at the stroke of tea.
Indian pacers, who scripted a memorable win at Lord's, bowled too many boundary balls and the England duo was quick to put them away.
Root, who is in the form of his life, reached his 51st fifty off just 57 balls with a gorgeous back foot punch through the cover.
Malan too played some delightful strokes and was brutal as well as elegant on the off-side. Besides the cover drives and rasping cut shots, he also effectively used the glide to third man region.
In the morning session, India struck twice but it was not enough to put England under pressure.
The home team managed to score 62 runs in the session, taking their first innings to score 182 for two having started the day at 120 for no loss.
Shami, coming round the wicket, removed Rory Burns in the first hour of play with a ball that nipped back in sharply to hit the top of off-stump.
India got a much needed second wicket against the run of play when Ravindra Jadeja struck in his first over of the day with a beauty.
The left-arm spinner got one to straighten slightly from middle and off-stump to beat a well-set Hameed and kiss the bails for his first wicket of the series.
Ishant Sharma opened the bowling for India and like on Wednesday, did not look at his best and struggled to find the right line and length on the surface. England fast bowlers had bowled much fuller on day one.
The Indian attack, which relies on seam more than swing, was not able to extract much from the pitch. The accuracy, which England pacers displayed, was also missing.
Siraj bowled a couple of looseners in his first over which Malan duly cut to the deep backward point and third man respectively. The southpaw began with an elegant cover drive off Jasprit Bumrah before growing in confidence.
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How C.V. Raman’s Discovery is Saving Millions of Lives Today
Every year on 28 February, India celebrates National Science Day. It is the day we remember Sir C. V. Raman, an Indian physicist who made a discovery in 1928 that changed the world. He received the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1930 for this work, becoming the first Asian to win that honour in science. The Government of India declared 28 February as National Science Day in 1986 to honour this achievement and to keep the spirit of scientific thinking alive in our country. This year, 2026, the theme is "Women in Science: Catalysing Viksit Bharat," reminding us that India's growth depends on every single mind, regardless of gender. But today, let us talk about something that most people do not know. The discovery Raman made while staring at the blue sea is quietly saving your life right now, inside hospitals and medical laboratories across the world.
Let us first understand what the Raman Effect actually is, in the simplest way possible. Raman noticed that when light passes through a clear material, a tiny portion of that light changes its colour slightly. Not much, just a little. In fact, only about 1 in every 10 million particles of light called photons changes. But that tiny change is enough to tell scientists exactly what a substance is made of. Think of it like a fingerprint. Just like no two people have the same fingerprint, no two molecules change light in exactly the same way. So when scientists shine a laser, which is a focused beam of light, on any material, they can read those tiny light changes like reading a name tag. This reading is called Raman Spectroscopy, and it is the most powerful identification tool science has ever created.
Now, why does this matter to a common person sitting at home? Because this technology has quietly walked into your nearest hospital and started doing things that were once considered impossible. Let us take cancer as an example. Detecting cancer early is the difference between life and death. Earlier, doctors had to remove a tissue sample, send it to a lab, and wait for days to get results. Today, Raman spectroscopy can examine living cells and tissues without cutting, without harming, without removing anything from the body. It reads the molecular fingerprint of the tissue and tells doctors immediately whether a cell is healthy or cancerous. This means faster diagnosis, less pain for the patient, and more time to begin treatment. For millions of families who have watched a loved one battle cancer, this is not just science. It is hope delivered at the speed of light.
The medical revolution does not stop at cancer. In pharmacies and drug manufacturing companies, Raman spectroscopy is used to check whether a medicine is pure and genuine. Fake medicines are a serious problem in India and across the world. People buy tablets trusting that what is written on the label is inside the tablet. Raman spectroscopy can verify this in minutes without even opening the packet. The laser passes through the packaging, reads the molecular fingerprint of the medicine inside, and confirms whether it is real or fake. This one application alone is protecting millions of people from consuming counterfeit drugs every single day.
In blood testing, in identifying kidney stones without surgery, in checking whether a wound is healing properly at a cellular level, in detecting early signs of diabetes through the skin without even taking a blood sample, Raman spectroscopy is showing up everywhere. Scientists and doctors are working on handheld Raman devices that a local doctor in a small town can use to diagnose patients on the spot, without needing expensive lab equipment or long waiting periods. In a country like India where medical infrastructure in rural areas is still developing, this could genuinely change how millions of people receive healthcare.
All of this began with one man refusing to accept a simple answer. Raman looked at the blue sea and asked why. That one question, followed by seven years of hard work, gave the world a tool that now fights cancer, catches fake medicines, and is slowly making quality healthcare reachable for every Indian, rich or poor, city or village. This National Science Day 2026, with its focus on women in science, is also a reminder that the next Raman could be a young girl sitting anywhere in this country, asking her own "why." The only thing she needs is for the world around her to stop saying "don't ask" and start saying "go find out."
(Girish Linganna is an award-winning science communicator and a Defence, Aerospace & Geopolitical Analyst. He is the Managing Director of ADD Engineering Components India Pvt. Ltd., a subsidiary of ADD Engineering GmbH, Germany.)
Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the author. They do not necessarily reflect the views, policies, or position of the publication, its editors, or its management. The publication is not responsible for the accuracy of any information, statements, or opinions presented in this piece.
