Joe Root finally registered his first Test century in Australia on his fourth Ashes tour (AFP photo) NEW DELHI: Joe Root finally registered his maiden Test century in Australia on his fourth Ashes tour as he steered England from a perilous 5/2 to 325/9 at stumps after a rousing opening day of the second Test in Brisbane on Thursday.Go Beyond The Boundary with our YouTube channel. SIGN UP NOW!Mitchell Starc took 6/71 – a spell that made him the most successful left-arm bowler in Test cricket – but Root dominated the day-night encounter with a brilliant 135 not out.
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No.11 Jofra Archer added the late fireworks, smashing 26 balls, including two sixes, a career-best 32* to delight England’s traveling supporters. His unbeaten 61-run stand with Root was England’s 10th highest at the Gabba.Root, the world’s highest-ranked batsman and second on the all-Test list behind Sachin Tendulkar, has never reached three figures in Australia, despite three previous Ashes tours. He buried the story on Thursday. When he came on during the third game, Starc waved the pink ball under the lights, produced a near-flawless innings and reached his century with a fine leg glance from Scott Boland.Starc’s six wickets took his tally to 418, overtaking Wasim Akram’s 414.“Wasim is still the pinnacle. I think he is still better than me,” Starc said after reaching the milestone.The left-armer struck immediately, removing Ben Duckett in his first over and Ollie Pope in his second to leave England in disarray. But unlike their collapse in Perth, England battled through a crucial 117-run stand between Root and Zak Crawley, who put on a composed 76.Selection shockBoth sides wore black armbands in tribute to former England thug Robin Smith, who died this week.Australia, already without injured captain Pat Cummins, surprised many by leaving out spinner Nathan Lyon and bringing in seamer Michael Neser – fielding a home Test XI without a front spinner for the first time in nearly 14 years.After an early collapse, Root combined vital stands with Harry Brook (31), Ben Stokes (19) and Will Jacks (19), adopting a more controlled approach than England’s aggression in the first Test.Starc remained the primary threat while Scott Boland produced the ball of the day – a stunning delivery that sharply reduced Jamie Smith’s game for a duck.England slumped from 210/4 to 211/6 and then to 264/9 as Starc went through the lower order in the lights. But just when a quick end seemed imminent, Root kicked into gear and Archer attacked.Archer unleashed two towering sixes while Root produced one of the shots of the day – a gutsy reverse drive for a six over third man off Boland – to ensure England finished firmly on the front foot.
