Ben Stokes admitted Joe Root makes even him “feel pretty rubbish” after watching the England captain’s latest double century grind down India.
Root continued his imperious form on day two in Chennai, finishing with 218 to take his tally this year to 644 in just five innings.
It was the fifth time Root had passed 200 for his country – only Wally Hammond has done so more frequently – and his second time in recent weeks, following a similarly mammoth effort in Galle.
“Generally wickets don’t get any better here, especially when the heat blazes on it and you put 90 overs on it a day.
“It’s going to get drier, break up, deteriorate. But just because we’ve got big first innings runs doesn’t give us the right to bowl them out twice, as we hope to do.
“We’ve still got a lot of hard work to do as a bowling unit. It’s tough to take 20 wickets anywhere but out here 20 can be hard to come by.”
Jack Leach and Dom Bess will resume in the middle looking to extend their 30-run stand, with number 11 James Anderson waiting in the wings.
