Psmith: There’s something very titillating about watching Root show the openers how to play against spin.

Ben: Joe Root is in incredible form at the moment. Could this be one of "those" years that top batsmen have? If so, what a year for it to happen!

Oli: Joe Root overtaking Boycott’s run totals with 3 boundaries in the over... joyful

Jonny Bairstow shows all three stumps to Dilruwan Perera and sends an awkward looking sweep just beyond the keeper.

Arjun Singh: I reckon Joe Root was born with a broom in his hands...

Sir Alastair Cook
Former England captain on BBC Test Match Special

I'm trying to think what Sri Lanka could do to stop Joe Root scoring here. Could they bowl a leg stump line?

Joe Root has everything under control.

Back-to-back boundaries for Joe Root as he takes hold of a short bit of nonsense from Embuldeniya and cuts it to the point boundary.

He opens the face of the bat to run a couple down to third man, and a pricey over comes to an end.

Simon Mann
BBC Test Match Special

This is brilliant batting from Joe Root, it really is. It's just brilliant.

Another sweep, another four for Joe Root. So good.

Rinse and repeat! This time it's the reverse sweep that goes flying to the boundary. This is what people mean when they say play positively against spin. It's not about hoicking every ball for six, it's about manouvering the field and then picking off the hittable balls.

Sir Alastair Cook
Former England captain on BBC Test Match Special

Sri Lanka grinded their way to a total, but those extra runs they got are so important.

Joe Root and Jonny Bairstow have shown that this is still a very good wicket to bat on. Root has been in fantastic form on this tour. He has just carried on, and he's so hard to bowl at as a spinner because he's got every option covered.

Joe Root, incidentally, is very close to overtaking Geoffrey Boycott in the list of all-time leading Test run-scorers. Another 10 runs will do it.

Umpire's call!

Oh, a bit of the ball is hitting, but not enough for Sri Lanka to get the wicket they so desperately wanted.

Sir Alastair Cook
Former England captain on BBC Test Match Special

That's close.

Now, Jonny Bairstow is very deep in his crease, but I think this might be clipping the stumps, rather than hitting them full on....

With three seconds left, Sri Lanka send an lbw shout against Jonny Bairstow upstairs.

They were pleading for this...

Another speculative shout for lbw from Sri Lanka against Joe Root, but a good chunk of glove stops the appeal from going anywhere.

Ant S: The problem for Jonny Bairstow is that he's often sacrificed his own batting position and comfort for others in Test cricket. Shifted around the order too often. England need to keep him for all forms of the game and let him settle where he wants.

Joe Root's half-century took just 65 balls, and he came in with England struggling at 5-2.

Michael Vaughan
Former England captain on BBC Test Match Special

It has been a brilliant innings by Joe Root but I think it's a lesson for all the England batsman.

He has been so busy and it has shown the inexperience of the Sri Lanka spinners. When he's hit them for a few he's had so many more full tosses because of the pressure he's put on them.

50 for Rootpublished at 11:38 Greenwich Mean Time 23 January 2021

11:38 GMT 23 January 2021

Magnificent.

Joe Root reaches his 50th Test half-century with another controlled push for two. So very, very good.

Lasith Embuldeniya is coming back for Sri Lanka, figures of 2-16 to his name.

Andy Zaltzman
Test Match Special statistician

Using the CricViz tracking data, Joe Root averages 62 playing the sweep shot, and he's also one of the most attacking players playing the shot. His run-rate playing the sweep is 11 per over, so that works out about 180 per 100 balls. He scores from 77% of the sweeps he attempts.