England’s Joe Root and James Anderson rewrote the record books with a Test record last-wicket stand that frustrated India’s bid for victory in the series opener at Trent Bridge on Saturday.
At lunch on the fourth day, England were 485 for nine, a first-innings lead of 28.
Root was 143 not out and last man Anderson a personal Test-best 81 not out, with their unbroken stand worth 187 runs.
That surpassed the previous tenth-wicket Test record of 163 — shared by Australia’s Phil Hughes and Ashton Agar against England, also at Trent Bridge, last year.
It was the second impressive tenth-wicket stand of the match after Bhuvneshwar Kumar (58) and Mohammed Shami (51 not out) had put on 111 for India in a first innings total of 457.
And it meant this match was also the first in 137 years of Test cricket where both sides had seen their last-wicket duo share hundred partnerships and where both number elevens — Shami and Anderson — had made fifties.
Anderson’s innings, which surpassed his previous first-class best of 37, was also the highest Test score by an England No 11, overtaking John Snow’s 59 not out against the West Indies at The Oval in 1966.
England, after losing six wickets for 68 runs in the face of accurate seam bowling from Kumar and Ishant Sharma on Friday, resumed on 352 for nine — a deficit of 105 runs.
Root was 78 not out and Anderson 23 not out, with their stand then worth 54.
– Docile –
Left-handed batsman Anderson was the initial aggressor on Saturday, turning Kumar of his legs for four and cover-driving him for another boundary with shots worthy of a top-order batsman.
Root got in on the act when he hooked Kumar, not fast enough to bowl short on the docile pitch but attempting a bouncer, for four to fine leg to go to 85.
Two boundaries in as many balls, a cover-drive and a a square-drive, off Shami saw the 23-year-old Root to a hundred in 186 balls with 12 boundaries.
Yorkshire’s Root, 50 when Anderson, of arch-rivals Lancashire, came in, joyfully hugged his partner as he celebrated his fourth century in 18 Tests.
The 31-year-old Anderson then went past his previous highest Test score of 34 against South Africa in 2008 when he deliberately uppercut Sharma over the slips for four.
Root’s drive for two then completed the hundred partnership
It was England’s first 100-run last-wicket stand since Alec Stewart and Andy Caddick against Australia in 2001, and only their fifth of all-time.
Anderson had so nearly batted England to a draw last time out against Sri Lanka at Headingley before being caught off a rising delivery off the penultimate ball of the match.
It was from such a delivery that Anderson gave a chance on 45 when he fended at Shami only for Murali Vijay to drop the low gully catch.
Anderson was soon celebrating a maiden Test fifty, pulling Shami to the boundary to reach the landmark in just 61 balls with 11 fours.
Root’s legside push for a single off left-arm spinner Ravindra Jadeja then saw the England duo to a new record stand by any 10th-wicket pair.
With England nine wickets down, lunch was delayed by 30 minutes.
That was time for Anderson to score a four to third man off Sharma that took him to 81 — more runs in one innings than England captain Alastair Cook has scored in Tests this year.
And it also left Anderson eyeing Agar’s record score for a Test No 11 of 98, made at Trent Bridge last year.