England v India: 'Hosts produce perfect game at Headingley'

I cannot remember two sides having their fortunes reversed so dramatically between two Tests as what we have seen with England and India.

From the second Test at Lord's, where England lost the plot to be beaten on the final day, Joe Root's side had a perfect game in the third Test at Headingley to win by an innings and 76 runs.

Their bowling was very skilful, backed up by wonderful catching. The opening batsmen made runs and the home side put together some big partnerships. It was a 10 out of 10.

India, though, were awful. When you get bowled out for 78 on the first day, there's no way back.

Perhaps the only thing they can do in response is say it was an aberration, and try to leave it behind.

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Root's 'magnificent achievement'

The turnaround is perhaps also indicative of modern Test cricket, where the matches come thick and fast, and a series can be over in the blink of an eye.

You can bet that Joe Root played a big part in picking his side up off the floor, with the result being his 27th win as Test skipper - a new England record.

The best captains have the ability to galvanise their sides when they look to be on the wrong path.

Michael Vaughan - the man who previously held the wins record - did it when England lost the first Test of the 2005 Ashes, and Root has done it now.

For Root to have earned so many wins shows just how long he has been doing the job. He took charge back in 2017 and only Alastair Cook, on 59, has led England in more Tests than Root's 55.

It is a magnificent achievement for him to set the wins record, especially when you think he has not always had the best players at his disposal.

Ben Stokes, for example, has missed 17 of the Tests Root has skippered, roughly a third of his tenure.

'Sky is the limit' for Root

Root is a steely character. Yes, he likes a laugh, but he's also very passionate about being captain of England. He freely admits it is something he dreamed about doing when he was a young boy.

He values old-fashioned methods. His family are steeped in club cricket and his brother Billy is having a professional career of his own. You could say that Root has cricket in his bones.

There was a time not too long ago when it looked like the job was getting on top of him. His shoulders were slumped and he wasn't quite himself.

But when he got a hundred in the first Test of this series, he looked like an energised, happy and refreshed Joe Root.

Since then he has batted beautifully, and his hundred in this Test - his third in as many matches - is his sixth of the year, equalling the England record.

Now we might wonder what records Root the batsman could go on to break.

Most runs in a calendar year? Most runs for England? Most Test runs by anyone? The sky is the limit for him.

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It's impossible to predict what the numbers will be when he does finally decide enough is enough and I think we are a long way away from that happening.

I can't imagine that Root will leave like Cook, but will instead go on and on, because he just loves playing cricket. He also has a slightly nicer place to bat than Cook - number four rather opening the batting - and Root could even drop down a place if he wants to, later in his career.

Can England find consistency?

I interview Joe on a regular basis, and one of the things we often talk about is how England can find consistency.

At Headingley, they gave a textbook performance, an example of how they should go about their home Test matches. The challenge is for them to do it again.

I've been watching England long enough to know it is unlikely they will do it again - the conditions for the fourth Test on Thursday at The Oval are likely to be very different, for a start - but you can never be certain.

They will have to contend with an India team who will be looking for a response in London. Captain Virat Kohli talked about the "hurt" they are feeling at the Headingley loss.

They blew England away in the second Test with their hostility, yet that was nowhere to be seen in Leeds. I expect them to come out firing again in the fourth Test.

This series is wonderfully poised. What makes it so tantalising is the unpredictability of these two teams.

I have no idea what is going to happen, but I do know it's not to be missed.

Jonathan Agnew was speaking to BBC Sport's Stephan Shemilt.

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