Overview
- Root brought up the hundred off 146 balls with a two off Michael Neser, striking 11 fours en route.
- The ton draws him level with Ricky Ponting on 41 Test hundreds, joint third all-time behind Sachin Tendulkar (51) and Jacques Kallis (45).
- Root reached lunch unbeaten on 138 with England 336-6 after resuming on 211-3 following a rain-hit first day.
- A 169-run stand with Harry Brook (84) was the biggest partnership of the series before Scott Boland ended it; Mitchell Starc removed Ben Stokes for a duck and Marnus Labuschagne dismissed Jamie Smith for 46.
- Root has 24 Test centuries since 2021 and is now within roughly 2,000 runs of Tendulkar’s career record, as England seek World Test Championship points with Australia already 3-1 ahead.