It is 30 years since the great Michael Schumacher's first race in an incredible Formula One career.
The legendary German driver made his debut at the 1991 Belgian Grand Prix at Spa, a track where his son will showcase his talents this weekend.
Schumacher went on to claim his maiden F1 victory at the same circuit in 1992 and retired with a staggering 91 victories to his name, having claimed seven world titles.
To mark the anniversary of his bow in Belgium, Stats Perform picks out some of the standout numbers Schumacher racked up in an astonishing 19 F1 seasons.
JORDAN'S LOSS IS BENETTON'S GAIN
Schumacher stepped in for his first F1 race for Jordan and impressively qualified in seventh before retiring on the first lap due to clutch problems.
He spent the rest of the season driving for Benetton, picking up four points from six races.
Schumacher won once in each of the next two seasons, then won back-to-back titles in 1994 and 1995 before making a lucrative move to Ferrari.
UNPRECEDENTED DOMINANCE
Schumacher established himself as one of the all-time greats during his decade with Ferrari, claiming his third world title in 2000.
That was the start of an unprecedented period of dominance, as he claimed a record five consecutive world titles.
Schumacher broke Juan Manuel Fangio's all-time record of being crowned world champion five times as he went from strength to strength before Fernando Alonso dethroned him in 2005.
SCALING NEW HEIGHTS TO SEVENTH HEAVEN
The 2004 season was Schumacher's most dominant as he won 13 of 18 races and was on the podium 15 times.
No driver has bettered that tally of victories for a season, but Lewis Hamilton last year matched Schumacher's haul of seven world titles.
Schumacher amassed an incredible 148 points in 2004 and that was the last time he won the championship.
RACKING UP THE RECORDS
Schumacher broke the record for F1 victories and finished with 91, a total Mercedes great Hamilton has gone on to surpass.
The 77 fastest laps set by Schumacher is a record, as is his 15 seasons with a victory and his 17 podium finishes in a season, set in 2002.
His 19 consecutive top-three finishes has never been bettered and nor has his 15 top-two finishes in a row, along with the most hat-tricks (pole, win and fastest lap) achieved by a driver with 22.
Schumacher's 181 races with Ferrari is the record for driving with the same constructor.
THRIVING IN FRANCE
The French Grand Prix was the race where Schumacher had the most victories, taking the top step of the podium eight times – another record.
He won at Magny-Cours for the first time in 1994 and his final win at the circuit came 12 years later.
Schumacher also holds the record for most poles at the same race with eight in Japan.
Andriy Lunin has become the latest Real Madrid player to test positive for coronavirus.
The back-up goalkeeper has been named in Madrid's squad for their first two LaLiga games of the season but will now have to serve a period of self-isolation.
He is the fourth Madrid player to contract COVID-19 over the past month after David Alaba, Karim Benzema and Alvaro Odriozola also returned positive tests.
Ukraine keeper Lunin previously tested positive while away with his national side last October, although it turned out to be a false positive and he was cleared to return to action.
Madrid confirmed the news in a short statement on their official website on Wednesday, though they did not clarify whether the 22-year-old was asymptomatic.
Lunin joined Madrid in 2018 but has made just one appearance – in last season's shock Copa del Rey defeat to Alcoyano – having spent three previous spells out on loan.
Carlo Ancelotti's side travel to Real Betis on Saturday in their final game before the first international break of the season.
A.J. Pollock pulled off an amazing catch on the wall along with two RBI as the in-form Los Angeles Dodgers won 5-2 over the San Diego Padres in the MLB on Tuesday.
With the Dodgers in the field leading 1-0 at the bottom of the fourth inning, Manny Machado launched a deep shot which appeared home-run bound but Pollock leapt up for an improbable catch.
Machado's shot would have been a go-ahead two-run homer but instead Pollock robbed him and the front row of fans of a memento.
Earlier, Will Smith had put the Dodgers ahead with a solo shot in the second inning.
Pollock continued to play a key role, helping the Dodgers pull further ahead with a two-run single in the seventh inning.
Sacrifice flies from Justin Turner and Corey Seager brought home Trea Turner and Max Muncy respectively, before Jurickson Profar's two-run homer reduced it to 5-2 in the eighth inning.
Emilio Pagan had four strikeouts for the Padres who used their bullpen, while Julio Urias had four K's across five innings for the Dodgers, before Kenley Jansen closed it out.
The victory means the world champions have won 14 of their past 16 games, while the Padres slump to their 10th loss from their past 12.
11 straight for hot Yankees
The New York Yankees continued their hot streak with a 5-4 come-from-behind win over the Atlanta Braves to close their series making it 11 consecutive victories, capped by D.J. LeMahieu's two-run homer in the fifth inning.
Giannis Antetokounmpo was in attendance for the first time as a Milwaukee Brewers investor, cheering on the side to a 7-4 win over the Cincinnati Reds, with Omar Narvaez delivering a go-ahead double to top a four-run seventh inning rally.
Nelson Cruz's eighth inning two-run double led the Tampa Bay Rays to a hard-fought 3-1 victory over the Philadelphia Phillies. It was Cruz's third hit of the game, taking his season RBI tally to 70.
Rookie of the Year prospect Luis Garcia impressed again on the mound, keeping the Kansas City Royals scoreless across six and two-third innings in the Houston Astros' 4-0 win. Garcia had seven K's and allowed only four hits.
Hunter Renfroe produced a two-homer game to lead the Boston Red Sox past the Minnesota Twins 11-9, while the Seattle Mariners improved their ordinary run differential with a 5-1 win to sweep rival the Oakland Athletics.
Unwanted history beckons for Orioles
The Baltimore Orioles' 14-8 loss to the Los Angeles Angels condemned them to their 19th straight defeat. The Orioles' losing streak is the equal worst in the majors in 16 years, when the Kansas City Royals lost 19 in a row in 2005. The run is also the fourth longest since 1900. The American League record is held by the Philadelphia Phillies in 1961 with 23 successive defeats.
Giants' home-run barrage
The San Francisco Giants slammed four home runs on their way to an 8-0 rout of the New York Mets, meaning they lead the majors with 191 homers. Brandon Belt hit two to reach a career-high 19 homers, while LaMonte Wade Hr and Mike Yastrzemski also homered. Yastrzemski's mammoth blast went a projected home-run distance of 451 feet.
Tuesday's results
Seattle Mariners 5-1 Oakland Athletics
Pittsburgh Pirates 4-2 Arizona Diamondbacks
Tampa Bay Rays 3-1 Philadelphia Phillies
Los Angeles Angels 14-8 Baltimore Orioles
Chicago White Sox 5-2 Toronto Blue Jays
San Francisco Giants 8-0 New York Mets
Washington Nationals 5-1 Miami Marlins
Texas Rangers 7-3 Cleveland Indians
Boston Red Sox 11-9 Minnesota Twins
New York Yankees 5-4 Atlanta Braves
Detroit Tigers 4-3 St Louis Cardinals
Milwaukee Brewers 7-4 Cincinnati Reds
Houston Astros 4-0 Kansas City Royals
Los Angeles Dodgers x-x San Diego Padres
Chicago Cubs - Colorado Rockies (postponed)
Giants at Mets
The Mets (61-64) have lost four of their past five games and eight of their past 10, including an 8-0 loss to the Giants (81-44), and need to find form when the two sides meet again in the second game of their three-game series.
Three-time Grand Slam winner Andy Murray has bemoaned his inconsistency within matches after bowing out of the Winston-Salem Open in the second round to Frances Tiafoe on Tuesday.
The 13th seeded American triumphed in one hour and 49 minutes over the Scot, who entered the event as a wildcard and had beaten lucky loser Noah Rubin in the first round.
Tiafoe won 7-6 (7-4) 6-3, saving three set points in the first set, before winning the tiebreak and taking command in the second.
Murray sent down 10 aces across the match but struggled on his second serve and on return.
"The positive thing is that I moved well and served well but my level is up and down with no real consistency," Murray said after the match in North Carolina.
"There are moments in matches where I play well and then I make mistakes or miss returns. I wish I wasn't doing that.
"My level is around 50 or 60 in the world. It's frustrating because if wasn't moving great and not feeling good physically then I would be a bit easier on myself. But when I'm winning a low percentage of second-serve points, that's got nothing to do with the physical side of things."
Sixth seed Marin Cilic also bowed out, losing 4-6 7-5 6-4 to Belarussian Ilya Ivashka, who sent down 16-13 aces.
Fifth seed Alexander Bublik was also bundled out, going down 6-2 7-6 (7-5) to Finland's Emil Ruusuvuori.
Top seed Pablo Carreno Busta dropped a set but edged past Kwon Soon-Woo 6-3 3-6 6-4.
British third seed Dan Evans came from behind to beat Lucas Pouille, while fourth seed Marton Fucsovics won in straight sets over Yosuke Watanuki.
Mike Budenholzer has signed a new multi-year contract extension to remain head coach of 2021 NBA champions the Milwaukee Bucks.
The Bucks announced the deal on Tuesday, with ESPN reporting Budenholzer has committed to a new three-year extension.
The 52-year-old joined the Bucks in 2018 from the Atlanta Hawks and guided the franchise to their first NBA title in 50 years in his third season in charge.
"Bud is a great coach and a fantastic partner to work with every day as we build a team that consistently competes for championships," Bucks general manager Jon Horst said.
"We’re extremely grateful for the leadership Bud provides and we look forward to building on the success we’ve had over the last three years and congratulate Bud on this well-deserved extension."
Under Budenholzer's guidance, the Bucks have topped the NBA in scoring in each of the past three seasons, led by Giannis Antetokounmpo.
Milwaukee averaged a league-high 120.1 points per game, which is also a franchise-best, in the 2020-21 season.
"The appreciation I have for being a part of the Bucks organization is hard to express," Budenholzer said.
"The players make the success happen on and off the court. We have the best players and to them I am grateful. They’ve grown and we’ve grown together during the last three seasons.
"We’ve had success along the way, finishing with an NBA Championship this season!
"We all can’t wait to get back to work and face the great challenge of competing again for an NBA Championship... Let’s keep getting better and building great teams and doing great work on and off the court."
Budenholzer won the NBA Coach of the Year in his first season at Bucks in 2018-19, before being one of three finalists for the award in 2019-20. He also won the award in 2015 at the Hawks.
Jamaica’s Reggae Boyz are likely to be without a few key English-based players ahead of the start of next month’s World Cup qualifiers if the country is shifted to the United Kingdom’s red list of travel destinations.
In recent days both the English Premier League and Spain's La Liga have declared that they will not release club players to countries that are on the UK list of red destinations, due to strict coronavirus quarantine protocols.
According to the region’s current coronavirus re-entry rules, individuals returning from red list destinations face a mandatory 10 days of hotel quarantine on return to England. In stating that they will refuse the request of those nations for the upcoming qualifiers, the Premier League argued that in addition to the 10 days the athletes will then need more time to regain fitness and could miss a number of games.
At current, the South American countries of Argentina, Brazil, Chile, and Peru are those most likely to be heavy impacted in the region, but with La Liga also joining the decision, CONCACAF team Mexico is also likely to be affected with five players currently plying their trade in the Spanish Premier League.
Mexico will open their CONCACAF World Cup qualification hexagonal round at home to Jamaica on Thursday, September 2. Jamaica is currently not affected by the decision as the country remains on the list of amber countries for the time being. With the list due to be updated on Thursday, however, and a surge of cases in recent weeks it will be worth noting whether their status is changed or not.
In any case, the majority of the country’s English-based players ply their trade in the English Championship who have not issued such a directive on the matter. The decision may, however, impact the appearance of Jamaica international’s Leon Bailey, who now plays for Aston Villa, and West Ham’s Michail Antonio, the latter having received his national identity documents was expected to make his debut for the country next month.
Former NBA Rookie of the Year Michael Carter-Williams will miss the start of the new season after undergoing ankle surgery.
The Orlando Magic confirmed the guard had surgery on his left ankle on Monday to have a bone fragment removed and a ligament repaired.
The 29-year-old, who was the 2014 Rookie of the Year, is expected to make a full recovery although no precise timeframe has been provided on his return.
Carter-Williams will miss the start of the new season which starts on October 19 with his return dependent on how he responds to treatment and rehabilitation.
The former pick 11 played 31 games for the Magic last season, averaging 8.8 points, 4.5 rebounds and 4.2 assists per game.
Jamahl Mosley has taken over from Steve Clifford as Magic head coach after they finished 14th in the Eastern Conference with a 21-51 record last season.
Ten-man Benfica survived a PSV onslaught to join Young Boys and Malmo in clinching a spot in the Champions League group stage on Tuesday.
The Portuguese side lost Lucas Verissimo to a second yellow card with 32 minutes played in the second leg at Philips Stadion, yet PSV could not find a way through from any of their 21 shots, eight of which were saved by Odisseas Vlachodimos.
PSV had 73 per cent possession and wasted a huge chance when Eran Zahavi hit the bar with the goal gaping, but their failure to score ensured Benfica went through to the competition proper 2-1 on aggregate following their victory on home soil last week.
Young Boys are also through at the expense of stubborn Ferencvaros side thanks to a 3-2 win in Budapest to complete a 6-4 aggregate victory.
Ferencvaros battled back through goals from Henry Wingo and Ryan Mmaee in the space of nine first-half minutes to cancel out Cedric Zesiger's opener on the day, making it 4-4 on aggregate.
But Christian Fassnacht swung the game back in Young Boys' favour and Felix Mambimbi sealed the win after Aissa Laidouni had been shown a second yellow, condemning Ferencvaros to Europa League football in the process.
Ludogorets must also settle for a place in Europe's secondary competition this term, despite beating Malmo 2-1 in the second leg of their playoff-round tie.
The Swedish visitors held a 2-0 advantage from the reverse fixture and that came in handy when Ludogorets skipper Anton Nedyalkov struck 10 minutes into the match at Huvepharma Arena.
Veljko Birmancevic hit back for Malmo before half-time to restore their two-goal lead and they held on to reach the Champions League group stage for a third time, and first since 2016, despite Pieros Sotiriou's penalty on the hour setting up a nervy finish.
Malmo, along with Benfica and Young Boys, will discover their group stage opponents on Thursday when the draw is made in Istanbul.
The second legs of the other three play-offs involving Brondby, Salzburg, Dinamo Zagreb, Sheriff Tiraspol, Shakhtar Donetsk and Monaco will take place on Wednesday.
LaLiga has confirmed it will support clubs who elect not to release players who represent national teams in South America for next month's fixtures.
Earlier on Tuesday, the Premier League announced that all 20 clubs had agreed to block their players travelling to countries on the United Kingdom's red list amid concerns over enforced quarantine periods on their return.
The majority of countries in South and Central America are on the UK's red list, while the Premier League also confirmed it had aired its frustration with FIFA over the decision to extend the CONMEBOL international window from nine days to 11.
Similarly, LaLiga has now hit out at world football's governing body, insisting it would fully back clubs who choose not to release South American internationals for this reason, while also taking into account concerns over coronavirus.
"In relation to the serious unilateral decision by FIFA to increase by two days, from nine to 11 days in both September and October, the international FIFA period for the CONMEBOL confederation, without addressing other solutions that were raised in the World Leagues Forum, LaLiga wants to communicate that it will support in all areas the decision of the Spanish clubs not to release their players belonging to the national teams for the convocation of CONMEBOL, and will take the pertinent legal actions against this decision that affects the integrity of the competition by not allowing the availability of the players," a statement read.
The statement went on to declare that 25 players from 13 LaLiga clubs had already been called up by South American nations, with the squads for Ecuador and Venezuela still to be announced.
"The Spanish association understands that the world calendar cannot and should not be modified in this way, especially when there are alternative solutions," LaLiga's statement continued.
"LaLiga, through the World Leagues Forum, has already expressed its discomfort in this situation and in the absence of sensitivity towards the clubs, on an issue, such as the international calendar, which is set and agreed four years in advance and to which the national leagues have already adapted taking into account the circumstances of the COVID, but always in a way agreed between all the parties involved.
"LaLiga will summon the affected clubs for a meeting in the coming days."
Juventus midfielder Aaron Ramsey has been ruled out indefinitely with a thigh injury sustained on the opening weekend of the Serie A season.
The 30-year-old started Juve's 2-2 draw against Udinese on Sunday but only lasted an hour before being replaced at the Dacia Arena.
Ramsey will miss Juve's home match against Empoli on Saturday and is also expected to withdraw from Wales' squad for their triple-header of fixtures in September, including World Cup qualifiers against Belarus and Estonia.
A statement on Juve's website on Tuesday read: "Ramsey underwent diagnostic tests this morning, which revealed a low-grade injury to the adductor muscle of the right thigh.
"In 10 days he will undergo new exams in order to precisely define the recovery time."
Despite lasting just 59 minutes against Udinese, Ramsey played the fourth-most passes of any Juve player (47), behind Matthijs de Ligt (68), Danilo (73) and Leonardo Bonucci (74).
He completed 44 of those 47 passes for a pass accuracy of 93.6 per cent, which was the most of any Juve player to start the match.
Ramsey was used 30 times by Juventus in all competitions last season and created more chances per 90 minutes in Serie A (2.55) than any Bianconeri player to feature more than four times.
The former Arsenal midfielder has been linked with a move away from the Allianz Stadium in recent weeks, with Juve reportedly seeking a €10million offer for his services.
Odd Christian Eiking took over the red jesey from Primoz Roglic while Michael Storer claimed another solo win on stage 10 of the Vuelta a Espana.
Storer dominated the final downhill of the opening hilly stage to take victory at Rincon de la Victoria.
Having also won stage seven at Balcon de Alicante on Friday, the Australian became only the second rider from his nation to win two in a single edition of La Vuelta – after Michael Matthews in 2013.
"I was feeling good on the last climb. I knew exactly what I needed to do to win today. I had to attack," the DSM rider said.
"I didn't have exact time gaps but I knew it was tight. I had to go fast down that descent. There are dry and slippery roads in this region. I felt my descent was just enough to hold on.
"I don't realise yet that I have won two hard stages at this Vuelta after 10 days. It's actually unbelievable."
Storer finished 22 seconds ahead of Mauri Vansevenant, Clement Champoussin, Dylan van Baarle and Eiking.
Olympic champion Roglic – GC leader since the end of stage six at Alto de Cullera – went down on the slopes of Puerto de Almacher as he finished just under 12 minutes behind Storer.
That meant he surrendered La Roja to Eiking, who became only the second Norwegian leader of La Vuelta – and first since Thor Hushovd in 2006.
"I couldn't expect that this morning," he said. "I was nine minutes behind and it would almost take a miracle to be in the jersey.
"I heard on my earpiece eight minutes, nine minutes, 10 minutes. And then in the end, I understood this was really possible.
"I tried to get as many minutes as possible in the end. I can't describe what this means, it's really, really big."
STAGE RESULT
1. Michael Storer (Team DSM) 4:09:21
2. Mauri Vansevenant (Deceuninck-QuickStep) +0:22
3. Clement Champoussin (AG2R Citroen) +0:22
4. Dylan van Baarle (Ineos Grenadiers) +0:22
5. Odd Christian Eiking (Intermarche-Wanty-Gobert) +0:22
CLASSIFICATION STANDINGS
General Classification
1. Odd Christian Eiking (Intermarche-Wanty-Gobert) 38:37:46
2. Guillaume Martin (Cofidis) +0:58
3. Primoz Roglic (Jumbo-Visma) +2:17
Points Classification
1. Fabio Jakobsen (Deceuninck-QuickStep) 180
2. Jasper Philipsen (Alpecin-Fenix) 164
3. Arnaud Demare (Groupama-FDJ) 74
King of the Mountains
1. Damiano Caruso (Bahrain Victorious) 28
2. Romain Bardet (Team DSM) 22
3. Michael Storer (Team DSM) 17
What's next?
The hilly stages continue on Wednesday with a 133.6km route from Antequera to Valdepenas de Jaen.
Cristiano Ronaldo hinders Juventus' attack and needs to be sold by the Italian giants before the transfer window closes, according to former president Giovanni Cobolli Gigli.
Portugal international Ronaldo joined Juve from Real Madrid in a high-profile €100million transfer ahead of the 2018-19 campaign on a lucrative four-year contract.
He is now into the final year of that deal and has been linked with a move away from Turin after requesting to be named among the substitutes against Udinese on Sunday.
Gigli previously questioned why incumbent president Andrea Agnelli sanctioned the signing of Ronaldo and has once again claimed Juve made a big error when bringing in the superstar forward.
"I've always been honest: signing Ronaldo was a mistake," Gigli, who was in charge between 2006 and 2009, told SerieANews.com. "It's impossible to recoup the investment and it will remain that way.
"He's a great player, but I have to be honest – the sooner he leaves, the better for him and for Juventus.
"I hope that Massimiliano Allegri knows how to continue using him like he did against Udinese. That is, with intelligence and when the game is in progress.
"Ronaldo hampers Juventus' attack. Without him, they can do excellent things in collective terms."
Paris Saint-Germain had been tipped to move for Ronaldo prior to signing Lionel Messi earlier this month, while a move to Major League Soccer has also been touted.
However, head coach Allegri recently insisted he has been assured by Ronaldo that he does not intend to go anywhere this month.
With the transfer window set to close in a week's time, Gigli has urged Juve to focus on finding a suitor for Ronaldo while also reaching an agreement with Paulo Dybala over a new deal.
"Renewing Dybala and selling Ronaldo in the next week would be best for all parties," he said. "But I don't believe someone like Ronaldo can be put on the market in seven days."
Ronaldo has scored 101 goals in 134 appearances since joining Juventus and won five trophies across his first three seasons in Italy.
The Portuguese netted 29 goals in 33 league games last term to top the scoring charts, becoming the first player to win the Golden Boot in Serie A, LaLiga and the Premier League.
He scored two more the second before, however, which was a 10-goal increase on his first campaign in Italy.
Simon Kjaer and the medical team who acted rapidly to tend to Christian Eriksen following a cardiac arrest at Euro 2020 have been recognised with the 2021 UEFA President's Award.
Eriksen collapsed during Denmark's opener against Finland in June, with Kjaer the first on the scene to place his team-mate in the recovery position before leading his side to form a protective screen while the Inter man received treatment.
The 29-year-old was subsequently taken to hospital, where he was fitted with a pacemaker before returning home, though it remains unclear if he will ever play again, despite visiting Inter's training ground in August.
For Kjaer's exemplary leadership, the centre-back – along with eight medics – have been hailed as the "true heroes of Euro 2020" and presented with the award by UEFA President Aleksander Ceferin.
"This year, the President’s Award transcends football," Ceferin said.
"It serves as an important and eternal reminder of just how precious life is and puts everything in our lives into the clearest perspective.
"I would also like to send my very best wishes to Christian Eriksen and his family as he continues his recovery."
After Kjaer had performed the initial CPR, the medical team responded quickly, resuscitating Eriksen before taking him off the pitch on a stretcher to rush him to hospital.
"We rushed to the field to help [Christian] and to do our job," said Mogens Kreutzfeldt, chief medical officer for Euro 2020 in Copenhagen.
"We did what we should, what we were taught, what we were trained to do.
"Everybody knew their role, everybody knew what to do.
"We were not emotional at the scene. Afterwards, we were, of course, like everybody. We're very happy and proud of the outcome."
England will hope some fresh faces can help revitalise their series hopes as they look to avoid suffering back-to-back Test defeats against India on home soil for just the second time.
After rain wiped out the prospect of a dramatic finish in the opener at Trent Bridge, India made sure there was final-day drama at Lord's last time out, taking 10 wickets in the final two sessions to go 1-0 up.
The teams have had a brief period of respite before battle resumes in Leeds on Wednesday, with England certain to make changes to their XI.
Dom Sibley was dropped after averaging just 14.25 in the series, meaning Haseeb Hameed seems set to slide up to open and the recalled Dawid Malan will bat at three, a position he has never previously occupied during any of his 15 Test appearances.
However, captain Joe Root is confident Malan – who averages 27.84 in the format, including hitting an Ashes century in Perth – can fill a problem position.
"He's played a lot of red-ball cricket over the course of his career and he's also had great success," Root told the media.
"He's played in a massive series in Australia away and been our leading run-scorer out there, so we know that he's capable of big things in Test match cricket."
England will also have to select a replacement for Mark Wood; the pace bowler is ruled out with the shoulder injury suffered at Lord's. Either Craig Overton or the uncapped Saqib Mahmood will get a chance in the bowling attack.
As for India, they are sitting in a position of strength, not just in terms of the series score but also the options they have available to them.
A pace-heavy bowling unit was the key to their impressive success last time out but the move north could prompt a change in approach, should the Headingley surface look to aid spin. Ravichandran Ashwin - who has just the 413 Test wickets to his name - is waiting in the wings for an opportunity.
The only occasion India have ever recorded successive Test triumphs in England came back in June 1986, when they followed up a victory at Lord's by beating their hosts in Leeds a fortnight later. Could history be set to repeat itself?
Siraj shines as bowlers prosper
Opener KL Rahul was named man of the match at Lord's following a first-innings century, yet it was Mohammed Siraj and his fellow pace bowlers who overwhelmed England on the fifth and final day, skittling them for 120 in 51.5 overs.
India boast a bowling average of 22.4 in Tests since the beginning of 2019, the best by any team in that time. England, in contrast, are ranked sixth in this category with an average of 28.1.
Root still waits for record
Root has been the one England batsman to prosper against India so far, scoring two hundreds and a half-century. His series average of 128.66 is outstanding yet his runs have not provided the foundation for his team to be successful.
This outing at his home venue in Yorkshire will be his 55th as Test captain, the second most by any England player. He has won 26 of those games in charge, leaving him level with Michael Vaughan at the top of the list.
Key match facts
- India have lost only one of their last six Tests (W4, D1), an eight-wicket defeat to New Zealand in the ICC World Test Championship Final (June 2021).
- England are winless in their last seven Tests (D2, L5). The last time they recorded a longer winless run in the format was an eight-match span from November 2017 to May 2018 (D2, L6).
- India (126) and England (110) have hit more sixes than any other teams in Test cricket since the beginning of 2019.
- Rishabh Pant has a batting strike rate of 68.8 in Tests since the beginning of 2019, the second best by any player to face at least 1,000 balls in that time (Quinton de Kock – 71.4).
- James Anderson has an economy rate of 2.4 in the format since the beginning of 2019, the best by any bowler in that time (minimum 500 overs bowled).
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