Michael Vaughan and Virat Kohli. (Photo Source: Getty Images & ICC)
Former England captain Michael Vaughan sparked controversy with his latest social media post on star India batter Virat Kohli. He compared Kohli’s numbers to those of Joe Root, who hit a cracking century under pressure in the ongoing second Test against Sri Lanka at Lord’s. With that, Root now has 33 Test centuries to his name and stands joint-tenth in the list of individuals with the most centuries in the longest format of the game.
Vaughan noted that Root now has more runs than the Indian star in Test cricket, more centuries, better average and more than double half-centuries. He captioned the photo saying ‘Morning India’, which rattled many of Kohli’s fans as they voiced their arguments and pointed out Root’s recent performance against India in the four-match Test series.
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Excluding the ongoing Lord’s Test, Root has played 144 Test matches in his career and has scored 12,131 runs at an average of 50.33. Kohli, on the other hand, has played 113 Tests and scored 8848 runs at an average of 49.15. He also has 29 Test centuries to his name and has the opportunity to better it in the upcoming ten matches – two against Bangladesh, three against New Zealand and five against Australia.
Morning India 🇮🇳 pic.twitter.com/Ax5g75yLyS
— Michael Vaughan (@MichaelVaughan) August 30, 2024
Atkinson’s century helped England go past 400
After a stunning time with the ball in the two-match Test series against West Indies, Gus Atkinson impressed with his batting skill in the second Test against Sri Lanka. The hosts were under pressure with the bat early on, as they were reduced to 130/4 at one stage. That’s when Root took control of the situation and made 143 runs to bail England out of trouble.
Later, Atkinson played a scintillating knock of 118 runs. He batted aggressively and partnered well with Matthew Potts and Olly Stone. Since he had no worries about getting out, Atkinson played freely, completed his century in style and also helped England post 427 runs on the board in the first innings.