It was a peaceful Friday at Ranchi when Joe Root did not use the sweep shot until he faced his 115th ball. He used only one reverse sweep and patiently worked his way to a century to save the day for England in the fourth Test. His undefeated innings of 106 from 226 balls, with a strike rate of 46.90, contrasted sharply with the aggressive approach that was emblematic of the Brendon McCullum era.
Joe Root,After a run of poor scores in his previous Test innings, which included an 18 in the first innings at Rajkot, Root went into the fourth Test against India looking to find his resolve again. Root’s dismissals drew a lot of criticism because they featured attempts at shots that, when taken away of the context of England’s aggressive Bazball mentality, seemed utterly strange.
It sparked discussions about Bazball’s recklessness, and Root’s 50-plus average during the McCullum era did not protect him from criticism.
The 33-year-old batsman needed a significant blow to dispel these notions and had to go back to his conventional batting approach, which he accomplished on Friday by controlling his need for showiness.
While hitting few boundaries on his way to his 31st Test century, Root showed persistent concentration in the face of a lack of big shots. In addition, the England batsman broke the three-figure barrier and set a new record against India. As of right present, Root leads all Test century scorers against India.
The following is the longest format list of hitters with the most three-figure scores against Indian teams:
- 10 – Joe Root
- 9 – Steven Smith
- 8 – Gary Sobers
- 8 – Viv Richards
- 8 – Ricky Ponting
Ashwin gets added to the exclusive list.
England’s Jonny Bairstow was the only wicket Ravichandran Ashwin took on the day, but it was a memorable one as it sent him into an unprecedented record. As the first Indian player to score a thousand runs or more and take 100 wickets against England in Test cricket, the off-spinner has officially made history.
In a larger sense, Ashwin joins the ranks of West Indies’ Gary Sobers, Australia’s Montague Noble, and Australia’s George Giffen as the only other player to reach this milestone.Ashwin became the eighth player in Test cricket history to accomplish this feat against an opponent, a testament to his continued rise in the league. He is the first Indian to accomplish this feat once more.
Akash Deep’s ideal debut
On the first day of the fourth Test, bowler Akash Deep was the main attraction for India, despite Root’s impressive performance for England. With a magnificent opening spell that saw him take three wickets, including Ben Duckett (13), Ollie Pope (0), and Zak Crawley (42), the rookie set off England’s top-order collapse.
The stakes were high since famous Indian bowler Jasprit Bumrah was replaced in the XI by Akash Deep. The Bengal fast bowler, nevertheless, didn’t allow the momentary anxieties affect his bowling, and even though he bowled a no-ball on a delivery that cost Crawley a wicket, Akash Deep came back stronger to destroy the English top order.
The 27-year-old, following Dhruv Jurel, Sarfaraz Khan, and Rajat Patidar, was India’s fourth debutant in the series.
By,HHM