timeHe begins to rot from the Root. It happened on the third morning of the five-over match at the sun-drenched Niranjan Shah Cricket Stadium. The moment left those bleary-eyed England fans groaning in their cereals as they rang their alarm clocks on Saturday morning, promising more high-octane Stokes shenanigans. In fact, it may be too early to make ends meet. At 4:22 a.m. UK time, a little before 10 a.m. local time, modern-day England batting prince Joe Root playfully jumped at his crease and tried to throw a ball to Jasprit Bhutto. Jasprit Bumrah reverse tackle.
You may be familiar with the shot and may have giggled with delight as Root unfurled it over Naseem Shah’s slippery pace or Neil Wagner’s muscle-bound bumper. Last summer, in the first Ashes Test at Edgbaston, he sat stunned when he attempted the first ball of the day against Pat Cummins, and when he later succeeded He screamed with delight as he knocked out Mickey Marsh and Scott Boland.
This shot has been Root’s signature shot ever since he resigned from the captaincy a few years ago and rejoined the team at a brisk pace. Despite his soft drive, sharp sweep and Andrex’s soft slide behind the point guard, this has been Root’s favorite shot to hit over the past few years.
Well, you guessed it, that got him out. Bumrah’s delivery was as far away from the stumps and in the slot as a ball can be hit in the slot at such a bold angle. Root got into position early, pre-empted the effort and played in his inimitable style – like a man slamming a dusty doormat against a garden wall – but failed to reach the heights required.The ball did not fly over the slip, but flashed to Yashasvi. Jaiswal was inside the crease and the youngster held on to a sharp catch.
Root threw his head back in disgust and stomped off the field, a gamble that didn’t pay off. India took advantage of the shaky opportunity and turned it into a full-on tumbling for the English wicket. The visitors gave up their strong overnight position as they lost by 8 runs for 112 runs and ended the match with a deficit of 322 runs. Ben Stokes’ side, exhausted by the heat in Rajkot, fell behind at the end of the match and needed eight Indian wickets before the inevitable chase began.
With England in trouble, Root’s shot selection soon became the talk of the town. The Guardian’s OBO coverage is like a late night/early morning radio call, with punters tapping away at their keyboards in the twilight, either denigrating Root’s “brain decline” or bizarrely celebrating it.
The first rule of Bazball may well be that you don’t speak (or, in the case of Bazball, even say the word) in the first place, Bazball, let alone reflect on the subtle alchemy of risk, reward, and supposed fearlessness that underpins it. But maybe the naysayers have a point this time? With India’s star bowler out of the tournament overnight as Ravichandran Ashwin pulls out of the tournament due to a family emergency, England have a chance to make it their own ‘moving day’ day” and raised India’s first-innings score to 445 runs. Root was clearly feeling his way in the last game, when he drove Bumrah for four runs and had the aggressive running back of Ben Duckett for company at the other end. Bumrah may have a few overs left in his spell and sensible cricketing logic might suggest that he moves on, leaving the reverse scoop at the bottom of the bag for now and making hay as the day progresses.
While there were plenty of bar-emptying acts and giggle-inducing heroics from Stokes’ side, one thing Stokes’ side may be accused of is a lack of ruthlessness. Root’s dismissal brings back memories of the Lord’s Test in last year’s Ashes series and similar situations.
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With England’s bat flying out and Nathan Lyon going down injured, Pat Cummins lost his mind and resorted to a short-ball plan with plenty of signposts. Instead of seeing the bigger picture, England got bogged down, chasing the short ball and perishing, giving up a 91-run first-innings lead in the process and losing a tense game by 43 runs Test match.
Needless to say, England’s players and many of their supporters don’t think so. When asked about Root’s dismissal behind the stumps, Duckett didn’t mince words: “In my eyes, it was like hitting a ball and cutting second slip.”
There’s a reason Stokes Test cricket fans clamor for alarm clocks in the early hours. They put on a show. There’s never a dull moment. They deserve our wake-up call. For better or worse, before you brush your teeth or collect your litter box, something crazy is likely to happen. Even so, if this game goes as expected, India will take a 2-1 lead in the series, this For players with such ingrained sanity as Root and Stokes, the moment it starts to unravel will be all too clear. Whether they choose to regret it or learn from it.
