Siraj looked like picking a wicket every ball – Sunil Gavaskar

England captain Joe Root reeled off his fifth century of the year. After his match-saving hundred at Trent Bridge in the drawn first test last week, Root went big again at the home of cricket.

Since turning 30 in December, Root has been in revelatory form, with knocks of 228 and 186 on the turning tracks of Galle, 218 against India in Chennai, and 109 under serious pressure in the rain-affected draw at Nottingham.

India used Siraj as a battering ram at the start of the afternoon session, a ploy that did nothing to ruffle Root’s feathers but unsettled Bairstow. He was undone by another after ducking into one bouncer and wearing it on the shoulder, swivelling into a hook but gloving gently to slip for 57.

Siraj took four wickets and was widely praised by Sunil Gavaskar.

“The thing with batsmen is that, while they are facing fast bowlers, they keenly follow the body language of the bowlers. When they feel that the bowlers are a little tired, the batsman feels he can score runs maybe after a couple of balls. But with Siraj, it did not happen. Till the end, he looked like picking a wicket for every ball. And with that, he did allow England batsmen to rest,” Gavaskar said on the Sony Sports Network.