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Dawid Malan, playing his first Test in three years, hit a splendid 70 and added 139 runs for the third wicket with skipper Joe Root as England reached 423 for 8 at stumps on day two to take a massive lead of 345.

Dawid Malan played the last of his 15 Tests back in 2018, against the same opponents. Rory Burns (61), Haseeb Hameed (68), Dawid Malan (70), and Joe Root (121) ensured England take a huge first-innings lead over a hapless India, who won the 2nd Test and is leading 1-0 in the 5 match series.

Dawid Malan: The Wicket Changed Massively From The 1st Day

Indian was blown away for a paltry 78 in their first innings on the 1st day but it looked like a different pitch when England came out to bat as they piled the misery on the opposition bowlers. Indian bowlers worked really hard and asked a lot of questions but didn’t get much help from the wicket, which has changed massively since the opening day of the third Test, said England batsman Dawid Malan on Thursday.

“The wicket changed massively from the first day the first hour when they were batting,” the 33-year-old Malan said in a virtual press conference after the end of the second day’s play.

“I would not say they were flat with their bowling. They absolutely ran in and tried their socks off. They asked a lot of questions probably didn’t get that much help from the wicket,” the left-hander said.

Senior-most Indian pacer Ishant Sharma looked lacklustre and returned wicketless after bowling 22 overs as the four-pronged pace attack struggled to make early inroads. Mohammed Shami picked 3 scalps, while Mohammed Siraj and Ravindra Jadeja picked 2 apiece and Jasprit Bumrah picked a solitary wicket-that of Joe Root.

Dawid Malan: It Was Great To Watch Joe Root Batting From The Other End

India failed to trouble Joe Root, who led from the front with a hat-trick of centuries in three Tests to put England in total control of the third Test. Playing in front of his family at home, Joe Root played an effortless inning of 121 — his sixth century of the calendar year.

“He scores runs all the time, and with the ease and the speed with which he does, it is quite fantastic. He has led from the front again as he has done in the Test series so far, all credit goes to him,” Malan said showering praise on his skipper.

“He moves his feet so well, the ball position where he hits the ball is so good. He hits the ball so much late than most people, he always looks to score.”

Calling him one of the greats of the game, Malan said: “If you bowl a bad ball, he just puts you away. If you look at all the greats who played if you miss your length they hurt you and Joe is one of those. It’s great to watch from the other end.”

With this century, England skipper Joe Root now equals Kevin Pietersen for the second-most Test hundreds for an England batsman – 23, while Alastair Cook has 10 more. After carrying the batting of his side on his shoulders, for once, the top three gave their skipper a decent amount of time of rest in the dressing room, as he arrived at the score of 159/2 in the 63rd over.

Joe Root then, along with fellow Yorkshiremate Dawid Malan, batted throughout the second session with the left-hander getting out on the last ball before tea. He took on India’s lone spinner, Ravindra Jadeja, with cuts and sweeps, which had been the highlight of his tour to Asia earlier in the year. He raced away to his fifty in 57 balls, before taking on the Indian pacers.