The fifth Test between India and England, starting Thursday at the picturesque Himachal town of Dharamsala, will mark a century of Test appearances from either side -- with Ashwin becoming the 14th Indian and Jonny Bairstow, the 17th Englishman to don 100 Test caps.
While Bairstow has managed only 102 runs in six innings, Root’s bat has produced a mere 77 runs from the three Tests so far, begging questions on the duo’s place in the side for the fourth Test.
Importantly, though, it was only England's third defeat of the Bazball regime, which meant that you couldn’t really dip your pain in acid and write disdainfully of Brendon McCullum, the coach who preaches hyper-aggressive Test cricket or Ben Stokes, the captain who made himself conspicuous with his rash first-day declaration.
Root's unbeaten 118 not out, his 30th century in Test cricket, was the stand-out contribution on a surface that offered little for the bowlers
We'll move on to the next test match, and go out there and try to win," the all-rounder added.
Stokes has been heavily linked with the vacant England Test captain's position and has spoken about the role as well following his friend and teammate's decision to step down
Eoin Morgan, who played a Test match in February 2012 against Pakistan at Dubai, has backed Stokes to take the role of captaining England in the longest format of the game.
Stokes will be the number one candidate for the responsibility as he is already the vice captain of the team and is a regular starter in the side when fit.
After facing disappointments during the Ashes and the three-match series against the West Indies, England Test cricket captain Joe Root has decided to step down as captain of the England Test side on Friday after a long captaincy period of five years.
Root had previously said that he would have to sacrifice IPL for England and Test cricket, but the absence of Stokes, Archer, Starc, Woakes, and Gayle was a bit surprising.
