Where It All Began got off the mark over fences in the QuinnBet Grand National Trial Handicap Chase at Punchestown.
Gordon Elliott’s eight-year-old had performed with credit in seven previous starts over fences but was yet to taste success in the discipline and was last seen winning in a maiden hurdle in January 2022.
Under Jack Kennedy, he stepped up to a staying trip of three miles and three furlongs for the first time at Punchestown and started as a 10-1 chance in a field of 15.
The gelding always looked comfortable but it was on the turn for home that the race became a test of stamina and it looked as though favourite We’llhavewan had the upper hand.
However, Where It All Began started to pick off his rivals, clearly relishing the extra distance as galloped home to take the Listed contest by an easy 16 lengths.
“He jumped great and never missed a beat the whole way,” Kennedy said.
“It probably looked turning in that I was going to finish third but stamina really kicked in when we straightened up. I’m delighted with him.
“He’s not reliant on heavy ground, just a test of stamina is what he wants.
“He’d been running well and threatened to do something like that.
As a result of the performance Paddy Power and Betfair slashed his price for the Grand National from 200-1 to 50-1, with weights for the Aintree contest revealed on Tuesday.
Philippe Clement spoke about James Tavernier helping him stop the “fire” when he took over at Rangers after the Light Blues went top of the cinch Premiership with a 3-0 win over St Johnstone at McDiarmid Park.
Ivorian midfielder Mohamed Diomande opened the scoring in the 37th minute and a late penalty double from skipper Tavernier, which took his Rangers tally to 120, moved Clement’s side two points clear of Celtic with 12 fixtures remaining.
Rangers were trailing their Old Firm rivals by seven points when Clement took over from Michael Beale last October and the Belgian’s first port of call was a chat with the 32-year-old, who arrived at Ibrox in 2015.
Clement, who described Tavernier’s goal tally for a full-back as “crazy”, said: “I am happy with Tav, he was the first player I talked with, that’s normal when you come into a building and you know the fire is going on.
“I wanted to see how to stop it as fast as possible so I wanted all the information, it’s normal to speak first with the captain.
“He was really open and honest about all things in the club, dressing room and himself also.
“He feels good also, there is a divided leadership with several players who take responsibility but they have a really good connection together.
“If you’re all alone you can be alone in the desert, now he has a few lieutenants around him that help also and are very influential. It’s important to have that.
“If I see how they are playing now compared to four months ago we cannot speak about a beginning because that was the beginning. There is a lot of room for progression.
“It’s clear they all are growing in these past couple of months without exception.”
St Johnstone were still in the game until the 79th minute when veteran defender Andy Considine fouled Rangers substitute Dujon Sterling inside the box and although referee Matt MacDermid did not point to the spot at first, when he was asked to view the pitchside monitor, he awarded the penalty and Tavernier gave keeper Dimitar Mitov no chance.
Then Rangers substitute Tom Lawrence’s shot struck the arm of Luke Robinson, who had spun in the air and had his back to goal inside the box.
After consulting his pitchside monitor again, MacDermid again pointed to the spot and this time Tavernier sent it high into the other corner.
St Johnstone manager Craig Levein’s first remark in the post-match press conference was “that’s VAR 8-0 up on us now” and on the second penalty decision, the former Scotland boss said: “It’s unbelievably unfair. When you spin your arm comes out.
“I don’t know how you are supposed to keep your arm in like that when you are spinning. The referee hasn’t seen it and it’s the people in the booth that call it.
“It’s these guys in the booth making calls that are baffling at times. We didn’t lose the game just because of VAR today, but it certainly made life much more comfortable for Rangers and took some of our energy away after they were awarded a couple of goals.
“I don’t know what the best (handball) rule is to have – but could we have one that applies to everybody? That would be nice.
“Supporters come along and pay their money. They have to sit for five minutes with a feeling of dread in their stomach but everybody knows what’s going to happen.
“The referee’s going to make whatever decisions has been made in the booth. The referees aren’t really refereeing the game anymore – maybe they should just get half their money.
“It’s quite depressing sitting here every week and talking about stuff that should be helping but isn’t.”
Real Madrid’s title push faltered in the absence of injured top scorer Jude Bellingham as they surrendered a lead to draw 1-1 at struggling Rayo Vallecano.
Carlo Ancelotti’s men looked set to cruise to victory against their lowly city neighbours following a third-minute finish from Joselu.
But the LaLiga leaders missed the chance to move eight points clear after Raul de Tomas’ 27th-minute penalty earned Rayo a deserved derby point in their first match under new boss Inigo Perez.
Real’s advantage at the top could be cut to three points on Monday evening when nearest challengers Girona travel to fifth-placed Athletic Bilbao.
An underwhelming outing for the 14-time European champions was compounded in added time by the dismissal of substitute Dani Carvajal for two quickfire yellow cards.
Following a 1-0 Champions League win at RB Leipzig, Real were once again without 20-goal England star Bellingham due to an ankle issue as they made the short trip to out-of-form opposition who changed head coach in midweek.
Rayo appointed 36-year-old Perez on Wednesday after sacking Francisco Rodriguez the previous day on the back of just one win in 14 league games dating back to October.
The hosts endured a nightmare start to the new era as Real edged ahead inside three minutes thanks to a rapid counter-attack.
After visiting goalkeeper Andriy Lunin survived a nervy moment, Brahim Diaz released Federico Valverde down the right and his low cross was dispatched into the bottom right corner by a first-time finish from the unmarked Joselu.
Former Stoke and Newcastle forward Joselu, who was forced to wait for an incorrect offside call to be overturned for his opener to be awarded, had the ball in the net again in the 19th minute.
However, on this occasion, his close-range header was ruled out as the assistant referee was correct in adjudging the ball had gone out of play prior to Valverde crossing from the right.
Real at that stage appeared in complete control but Rayo took advantage of a VAR-awarded spot-kick to level.
Replays showed Oscar Trejo’s powerful effort was deflected over by the right fist of Eduardo Camavinga and former Real forward De Tomas confidently converted high down the centre of the goal to open his account for the season.
Real struggled to regain their rhythm, albeit the lively Valverde struck the outside of the left post with a long-range volley after Luka Modric’s corner was partially cleared.
Defensive dithering from Aurelien Tchouameni almost let in Alvaro Garcia immediately after the restart as Real’s unconvincing afternoon continued.
The away side enjoyed plenty of possession but lacked penetration as time ticked away.
Toni Kroos brought a superb save out of Rayo goalkeeper Stole Dimitrievski with a direct free-kick from distance, while fellow Real substitute Rodrygo had penalty appeals waved away after going to ground easily.
Spain full-back Carvajal, who came on in the 75th minute, then departed prematurely after petulantly lashing out at Kike Perez.
And the lacklustre visitors could have few complaints about dropping points for only the sixth time this season as Rayo marked the start of Perez’s reign with a surprise result.
Mister Policeman looked to get his career back on track with victory in the Concept Colours Rated Novice Chase at Punchestown.
The Willie Mullins-trained chestnut was purchased by Rich Ricci after hurdles success in France as a four-year-old and got off the mark for new connections at the first time of asking.
His first Irish run was in a two-mile Cork hurdle last April, a race he won comfortably before graduating to fences at the start of this term.
His first attempt at Fairyhouse in November was a success and the gelding then headed to Naas in January and started as the favourite in a two-mile novice.
He was comprehensively beaten on that occasion as Quilixios came home in front with Sa Fureur behind him and Mister Policeman over eight lengths away from the winner in third.
At Punchestown the five-year-old looked to make amends for a sticky round of jumping last time and under Paul Townend he was much improved, travelling well as the 1-2 favourite in a field of five.
Rounding the final bend he was galloping along comfortably and was able to produce a neat jump at the last to pull away to a six-length victory.
Mullins said of the success: “He’s still learning to jump and he’ll probably be better going out in trip at some stage, but this race fitted nicely into his schedule. It will leave him nicely set up for the spring.
“I’d imagine he’ll stay at home and there are plenty of good races to be won. He could go for a novice handicap.”
Rachael Blackmore coaxed home Senior Chief to take the QuinnBet Beginners Chase over two miles and seven furlongs.
The 2-9 favourite had placed in two runs over fences so far and seemed to require a little persuasion throughout the race but scraped home to prevail by three-quarters of a length.
“Rachael said once she turned in she knew it was OK but I’m not so sure,” winning trainer Henry De Bromhead said.
“He’s done little wrong in fairness to him, and the handicapper might reassess him from a mark of 142.
“He looked laboured and Rachael said it’s tough old ground. We’ll look for a handicap now and see where we go from there.
“I’m delighted for the lads (Lucky In Life Syndicate) who are great supporters and a lot of them work at Regeneron in Limerick.”
Adam Silver will not "anoint" any player to be the next LeBron James when he eventually retires.
Four-time MVP James is set to play in his 20th All-Star game on Sunday at the age of 39, averaging 24.8 points, 7.2 rebounds and 7.8 assists so far this season for the 30-26 Los Angeles Lakers.
Though James is still performing well, he is in the latter stages of his career and the talk over who could potentially fill his place as the league's most recognisable player has been growing.
NBA commissioner Silver, though, compared James' potential retirement to that of Michael Jordan, saying players must earn the mantle of James' replacement.
"I would never anoint another player to be the next LeBron James just in the same way when Michael [Jordan] retired," Silver told reporters.
"I remember at the time David Stern [former NBA commissioner] was saying whoever demonstrates on the court that they should be.
"These new players aren't anointed. They demonstrate to the world, they demonstrate to the league that they deserve to be viewed in that same rare position as players like Michael and Kobe [Bryant] and LeBron and others."
Silver pointed to the rise of international talent in the NBA as potentially being able to somewhat fill the boots of James, stating the league is in "fantastic hands".
"Just look at the All-Stars that we're going to be seeing competing [Sunday] night," Silver added.
"Look at the magnitude of the pool of international players coming into this league. Look at the amount of basketball that's being played on a global basis."
Bam Adebayo will start in Sunday's All-Star game for the first time having replaced the injured Joel Embiid.
Reigning MVP Embiid was originally slated to start at center for the Eastern Conference All-Star team, but the Philadelphia 76ers man will miss the game because of a knee injury.
Adebayo initially made the reserve team having averaged 20.2 points and 10.6 rebounds per game for the Miami Heat so far this season, but has now been chosen as Embiid's deputee by Eastern Conference coach Doc Rivers.
Adebayo was also selected as a reserve team member in 2020, winning the skills competition that year, but this will be the first time he has made the starting line-up.
The former Kentucky Wildcat will become the seventh Heat player to be an All-Star starter and the first since Dwyane Wade eight years ago.
Adebayo's Heat currently sit at 30-25, in the play-in spots at seventh in the East having reached the NBA finals from the play-in positions last season.
Three-time Olympic medallist Shane Rose has been stood down from competition after wearing a mankini during a showjumping event.
The 50-year-old Australian, who hopes to represent his country at the Paris Games later this year, has apologised for any offence caused by his outfit choice at Wallaby Hill near Sydney last weekend.
Equestrian Australia is reviewing the matter after concerns were raised about Rose’s attire, but insisted he has not been suspended.
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Riders were encouraged to wear fancy dress for the event.
Rose sported three outfits – a gorilla suit, a Duffman outfit from the Simpsons and the mankini, a skimpy swimwear item popularised by Sacha Baron Cohen’s comedy character Borat.
“I took part in this fancy dress competition with the aim of providing light-hearted entertainment for those in attendance,” Rose wrote in a Facebook post, which was later deleted.
“If my costume/s offended anyone I am truly sorry as this was never my intention. I would like to apologise to anyone that I offended.”
Rose won team eventing silver at the 2008 and 2020 Olympics and bronze in 2016.
He said he hoped the incident would not affect his Olympic preparation, while expressing a desire for the situation to be resolved quickly.
“With a bit of luck this will all be a bit of a laugh in a few days and we can all move on,” he told the Sydney Morning Herald.
“I wore a costume which you could see at a theme park or a beach. Potentially no-one has done it on (a) horse, but there you go.
“I think I am a good person and I do a lot for the sport, and for people in different situations. I don’t feel like I have done anything particularly bad.
“In hindsight, I should have re-thought what I did but, at the time, I thought it was just a bit of fun.”
Equestrian Australia chief executive Darren Gocher said a complaint was made about how Rose was dressed and that there were children at the event.
“Whether it is one (complaint) or 1,000, we have an obligation to review it,” he said.
“He hasn’t been sanctioned, he hasn’t been suspended. He has been stood down from competition while we review and we have committed to getting the review done this week.”
Many members of the equestrian community were not impressed with Rose being stood down, with some changing their Facebook profile pictures to Borat in a show of solidarity.
Stuart Crawford will be keeping a close eye on the bet365 Morebattle Hurdle, as connections plot their next move with Leopardstown scorer Brucio.
Owned by Simon Munir and Isaac Souede, the six-year-old has begun to get her act together over obstacles and following a successful Catterick raid in January, secured Listed honours with an impressive display in the Paddy Mullins Mares Handicap Hurdle at the Dublin Racing Festival.
Brucio was subsequently handed an entry for the Ryanair Mares’ Novices’ Hurdle at the Cheltenham Festival, but with Crawford unsure if she will make the trip to Prestbury Park, it is of note that she also holds a ticket for Kelso’s feature handicap on March 2.
“It was a nice surprise winning at Fairyhouse, we certainly weren’t going there bullish we had a good chance, but she was at the right end of the handicap and she was open to plenty of improvement,” said Crawford.
“Hopefully she will keep on progressing, but I don’t know if we will head to Cheltenham with her. I’ll have to sit down and have that discussion and the beauty is there are plenty of options for her and first things first, we would try to pick something where she has the chance to pick up some good prize-money or get her head in front again.”
Irish raiders have enjoyed success in the Morebattle since its reincarnation as a handicap in 2021, with The Shunter winning in the Borders before going on to strike at the Cheltenham Festival.
Crawford himself went close to landing a blow in the race the following year with Saint D’oroux and he admits it could be the ideal place to enhance Brucio’s CV while others have their sights on the Cotswolds.
“There will be plenty of focus obviously on Cheltenham (in the next few weeks), but I will have no problem at all collecting a bit of prize-money at Kelso, that would suit me all right,” he said.
“I think we will definitely be keeping an eye on Kelso and it will probably be a more valuable race than what she would be going in at Cheltenham.
“How well is she going to be treated by the handicapper? That is hard to say and she will take a hefty rise for what she did at Leopardstown. But hopefully she can still be competitive in a big handicap like that.”
He went on: “She made a very promising debut at Punchestown last spring in the mares’ bumper there and showed a bit of ability, but afterwards she probably underwhelmed a little bit and underperformed in her next two starts in bumpers.
“Ultimately she has just probably been more suited to going jumping and even though she has taken a run or two to find her feet, there is hopefully plenty of progress still to come with her.”
Doddiethegreat will step back up in trip for a shot at the Coral Cup at the Cheltenham Festival having delighted his team when flying home for fourth in Newbury’s Betfair Hurdle.
Named after former Scotland rugby star Doddie Weir – who died of motor neurone disease in 2022 – prize-money from the eight-year-old’s on-track exploits is donated by his great friend, owner Kenny Alexander, to the My Name’5 Doddie Foundation set up in Weir’s name to aid research into MND.
The foundation reaped the rewards of that generous gesture at the beginning of the gelding’s career and although injury threatened to curtail Doddiethegreat’s progress, keeping him sidelined for over two years, he has continued tracking an upwards curve since his racecourse return earlier this season.
Trainer Nicky Henderson may have saddled the winner of Saturday’s Betfair Hurdle, Iberico Lord, but the Seven Barrows handler was just as thrilled with Doddiethegreat who kept on strongly to claim fourth.
Connections now feel the time is right to move up to two miles and five furlongs at the Cheltenham Festival – a distance Doddiethegreat won over on his hurdles bow in 2021.
“We were delighted with his run and Nicky and everyone thinks ideally he needs another half a mile,” said Alexander’s racing manager Peter Molony.
“Given the circumstances, we were really happy with the run and we were perhaps unlucky not to be third and pick up even more money for the cause.
“I think we’ve got the Coral Cup in mind for him and that’s the plan at the moment.
“He’s a lovely horse and of course we have to be a bit careful after his injury, but we’ve been delighted with him and touch wood, the leg seems to be holding up well. Hopefully we can get plenty more runs into him and win plenty more prize-money for the foundation.”
Captain Ben Stokes said England still have a “great chance” to win the Test series against India despite their crushing 434-run defeat in Rajkot.
England collapsed to their heaviest Test defeat in terms of runs since the Second World War to go 2-1 down in the five-match series.
Another blockbuster double century from Yashasvi Jaiswal set England a world record target of 557 to win the third Test.
Jaiswal, who made 209 in Visakhapatnam last time out, equalled the record for the most sixes in an innings with a dozen in his unbeaten 214 to underpin India’s 430 for four declared.
England never threatened to achieve the unthinkable as India’s attack – latterly bolstered by the return of Ravichandran Ashwin following his departure due to a family medical emergency – tore through the tourists’ beleaguered line-up.
“It doesn’t always work out how you want, but we still have a great chance to win the trophy 3-2,” Stokes told TNT Sports.
“We leave this game behind us, just as we did with the first two matches, and we know we have to win the next two games to take the series.”
Ravindra Jadeja led the way with five for 41 as Stokes’ side were skittled in 39.4 overs.
Stokes was asked if England’s aggressive style could be perceived as reckless.
“Everyone has a perception and an opinion about things but the opinions of the people in the dressing room are the only one that matters to us,” the England skipper continued.
“We know that things don’t always work out how you want them to.
“Ben Duckett (153) played an unbelievable first innings and that was the tone we wanted to set throughout and it was about identifying that opportunity to push the scoreboard on and get as close as we could do to India’s total.
“I wanted us to be bowling yesterday, even though it came earlier than we expected, because of how we felt the wicket was going. We wanted to push the game on as much as we possibly could, but sometimes gameplans don’t work out and that is sport sometimes.”
England were chastened as never before in the Bazball era, all out for a meek 122 to collapse to their heaviest Test defeat in terms of runs since the Second World War.
Yashasvi Jaiswal followed up his 209 in Visakhapatnam last time out with 214 not out in Rajkot as India became the first side to declare against England under the axis of Ben Stokes and Brendon McCullum.
After India amassed 430 for four to set a world-record 557 to win the third Test, England never looked like living up to their billing as happy hunters and were skittled in 39.4 overs to lose by a whopping 434 runs.
Only once before have England been hammered by a wider margin – against Australia by 562 runs in a timeless Test in 1934 – while they were spared total embarrassment by the last three wickets adding 72.
Gary O’Neil welcomes Wolves supporters dreaming of Europe even if he is happy to play down such talk.
Wolves completed a Premier League double over Tottenham on Saturday with a 2-1 away win that moved them on to 35 points for the campaign.
It was Wolves’ fourth win from their last five matches and they are now only two points off seventh spot, which has earned Europa Conference League qualification in each of the last three seasons.
O’Neil said: “I haven’t seen the league table but I don’t really set goals in league table positions, especially with a group that I didn’t know when I joined and most of the talk at that point was around relegation!
“To switch talk from relegation to Europe is a big jump.
“I’ll keep pushing them until the final whistle at Anfield at the end of May or hopefully beyond that if we’re able to keep a cup run going.
“Yeah, I love the fans dreaming. One of my favourite parts of the job is I am not allowed to get carried away and think about things that might happen, but I love them being able to think about it.
“If we were on 22 points right now, they would be worrying about, ‘how we get our next win and are we going to stay up?’.
“The fact we’ve got to 35 already, they can talk about a title charge for all I care!
“I am delighted they are enjoying themselves and we got to share another fantastic moment with them, which was really special.
“You can see the connection between the players and the fans, but we just need to keep trying to push it and improve everything.”
Joao Gomes was the two-goal hero for Wolves and the midfielder produced his stellar display in front of Brazil head coach Dorival Junior.
“Was Joao aware of the Brazil manager being here? I’m not sure,” O’Neil admitted.
“I think you know what you’re going to get with Joao whether there is one man and his dog watching or the Brazil manager or the Real Madrid manager or whoever else might want to watch Joao.
“I hope he’s just trying to impress me! It was a good day for him.”
Tottenham will have to lick their wounds for the next fortnight after next Friday’s scheduled match with Chelsea was postponed due to their opponents’ involvement in the Carabao Cup final.
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Spurs will stay in England over the next two weeks and prepare for the visit of Crystal Palace on March 2 when Ange Postecoglou will hope to have Pedro Porro (muscle) and Destiny Udogie (knee) fit again.
The duo have produced 13 goal involvements between them this season, but the Spurs boss played down their absence.
Postecoglou said: “We’ve had a lot of injuries this year, we’ve certainly performed better than that when we have had injuries.
“So, I don’t think that’s the reason. Like I said our general level of performance wasn’t where it should be.”
Eddie Howe has challenged his players to ride out the wave of chaos which has engulfed the club as Newcastle attempt to rediscover their best form.
The Magpies sailed serenely through last season as they gatecrashed the Premier League’s top four to secure a first Champions League adventure for two decades.
This time around, Howe’s expensively-assembled squad is riven by injury and suspension and the control they exerted for much of the last campaign has deserted them.
Speaking after Saturday’s 2-2 Premier League draw with Bournemouth, in which they trailed twice, Howe said: “I’m well aware and I think people who watch us regularly are aware, that we’re not at full power at the moment, we’re not at our fluent best but I think the reasons for that are obvious.
“We are a bit disjointed. We had players playing today who maybe wouldn’t be in their best positions given a free hand. But everyone is giving as much as they can to get consistent results.
“We have to look at the positives: it’s another game unbeaten for us; we’re getting points where we went through a spell when we weren’t.
“That was a big late goal for us. It just keeps that momentum. Of course we’re looking for three points in every home game, so we’re disappointed with certain aspects as well.”
Newcastle went into the game without a recognised striker after Callum Wilson joined Alexander Isak on the sidelines alongside key midfielders Joelinton and Sandro Tonali and first-choice goalkeeper Nick Pope.
The balance of the team has been affected significantly by those and other absences – they have scored 17 goals in their last seven league games but conceded 19, four of them against Luton in their last game at St James’ Park a fortnight ago when they had to come back from 4-2 down to claim a point.
This time around, they trailed to Dominic Solanke’s opener after he pounced upon a slip by keeper Martin Dubravka and then Antoine Semenyo’s sweet strike.
Anthony Gordon had cancelled out Solanke’s 16th goal of the season from the spot and substitute Matt Ritchie levelled at the death.
Howe said: “We never know when we’re beaten. At 2-1 today, it would have been easy to not respond – just as it would have been at 4-2 down against Luton. That’s down to the character of the players.”
Bournemouth boss Andoni Iraola left Tyneside proud of a creditable performance, but fuming at the outcome.
He said: “Today for me, it’s difficult to feel happy. I’m really happy with the performance. I think we deserved the three points.
“We came to a very difficult stadium with tough opposition and I think we did really well. We played very brave with high energy, we had the better chances, we were in front twice and to end with just one point, it’s not what we deserved today.”
England were chastened as never before in the Bazball era following another blockbuster double century from Yashasvi Jaiswal as they were set a world record 557 to win the third Test.
Jaiswal, who made 209 in Visakhapatnam last time out, equalled the record for the most sixes in an innings with a dozen in his unbeaten 214 to underpin India’s 430 for four declared in Rajkot.
England then lost both openers on the stroke of tea, ending a grim session on 18 for two in sapping conditions, as India took a giant stride towards moving 2-1 up in the five-match series.
Ben Stokes and England’s bowlers were powerless to stop Jaiswal, who crashed James Anderson for three successive sixes at one stage and shared an unbroken 172 in 158 balls alongside Sarfaraz Khan (68no).
Anderson leaked 78 from 13 wicketless overs, the first time he has gone at or more than a run-a-ball in several years, while Joe Root and Rehan Ahmed conceded over 100 runs with economy rates exceeding four.
This marked the first time under Stokes and head coach Brendon McCullum’s stewardship that an opposing team had declared against England.
Ben Duckett said the previous evening India “can have as many as they want and we’ll go and get them” but India are set to be boosted by the reintroduction of Ravichandran Ashwin on the penultimate day.
Ashwin, India’s premier spinner, pulled out of the Test on Friday night to tend to a family medical emergency but it was announced he will return on Sunday afternoon and be available immediately.
Even before he had taken the field, Duckett ran himself out before Zak Crawley was given lbw off Jasprit Bumrah, the decision staying with the on-field umpire as the ball would have flicked leg stump.
Jaiswal made 104 before retiring hurt on the third evening although he was back in situ after England made their only breakthrough of the first hour when Shubman Gill was run out for 91.
Nightwatcher Kuldeep Yadav added 27 before edging Rehan Ahmed to Joe Root. There was no celebration and the umpires had to send the decision upstairs to confirm the dismissal.
That merely brought together Mumbai mates Jaiswal and Sarfaraz, two of India’s big-hitters with a licence to throw caution to the wind and the pair accelerated sharply either side of lunch.
It was especially brutal in the first hour of the afternoon as 98 runs were added. Anderson attempted to frustrate Jaiswal by initially bowling wider but after going straighter the 41-year-old was flicked over long leg, carved over deep extra cover then driven back over his head for three sixes in a row.
Anderson, who has only gone at six an over on only a handful of occasions and not since December 2006 when he has sent down more than 10 deliveries in an innings, was hooked for Root soon after.
Root put down a difficult return catch when Sarfaraz was on 37 – the Yorkshireman’s second drop of the Test, although this was not as important as his first-day spill of Rohit, which cost 104 runs.
Sarfaraz went on to record an almost understated 50, the debutant’s second of the Test, with the crowd’s energy firmly fixed on Jaiswal.
He pushed Root into the off-side for a single, spreading his arms aloft before taking off his helmet and leaping and punching the air before soaking up the acclaim and sharing a handshake with Stokes.
Jaiswal was denied the chance to set the record for the most sixes in an innings, he is joint with Pakistan great Wasim Akram on 12, as Rohit called in his batters.
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