Joe Root smashes double century against New Zealand: Records broken
England captain Joe Root smashed a double century against New Zealand on Day 4 of the second Test against New Zealand in Hamilton on Monday. It was his third career double hundred in the format, while it was also his first overseas. As a result, he scripted some records, which we take a look at.
As Root scored his double hundred off 412 deliveries, it included 22 fours. In the process, he became the first overseas Test captain to score a double ton in New Zealand. He went past the previous best score of 197 by Chris Gayle of Windies. Overall, he is the fifth captain to smash a double century in New Zealand.
Root played a commendable innings of 226 of 441 deliveries, which included 22 fours and a six. Consequently, he became the second-highest run-scorer as England captain in an away Test. He went past Ted Dexter and Sir Leonard Hutton, who has scored 205 each. The record for the same lies with Alastair Cook, who had smashed 263.
In the process, Root is also the fourth batsman from England to smash a double hundred in the country. The last Englishman to score the same in the country was Graham Thorpe, who smashed an unbeaten 200 in Christchurch in 2002. Meanwhile, this is also the first double hundred by an overseas player in New Zealand since January 2017, after Shakib Al Hasan's 217.
Winning the toss, England opted to bowl first, as the hosts were bundled out for 375, courtesy Stuart Broad 4/73. As for England, they managed to post a better total of 476, thanks to Root's 226, along with Rory Burns' 101. As of now, Kiwis are 96/2, with skipper Kane Williamson (37*) and Ross Taylor (31*) at the crease.
