Joe Root Reminds of Tendulkar: Shows Batting Grit, Ignores Sweep

image-lsysas4fJoe Root scored a briliant hundred against India in the fourth Test (Source: AP Photos)

England, coming on the back of two consecutive defeats, were aiming to stage a comeback in the fourth Test. However, a superb new-ball spell from the debutant Akash Deep ruined their ambitions. Bowling with a good pace, the right-arm pacer gained sideways movement, eventually reducing the visitors’ score from 47/0 to 57/3. 

It was time for England’s experienced middle-order to stand tall. Joe Root and Jonny Bairstow stitched a 52-run partnership, however, the latter was trapped against Ravichandran Ashwin while playing the sweep shot (again!). A delivery from Ravindra Jadeja, which stayed low, completely outfoxed Ben Stokes. 

By the end of the lunch, England found themselves into troubled waters — 5 wickets down at the score of just 112 while batting first on a Day 1 pitch! Joe Root’s recent form didn’t inspire enough confidence. His scores in the series read: 29, 2, 5, 16, 8 and 7. In his last 12 Test innings in India, Root averaged 15.6 with just two 30s to his name.


‘Bazball’ – a problem for Joe Root?

A lot was spoken about Joe Root’s approach during the last two Tests, particularly after his reverse scoop dismissal against Jasprit Bumrah. There were suggestions that Joe Root should stick to his traditional style and other batters should follow the ‘Bazball’ approach. Some hyperbolic comments declared that Bazball ruined England’s most dependable batsman.

Truth be told, most of the comments were affected by recency bias. In the ‘Bazball’ era until the start of the series, Root accumulated over 1,500 runs with an excellent average of 58.73, notching up five centuries in 18 matches. The most notable change was in his scoring rate. Root had a career strike rate of 54.65 until Ben Stokes took the charge. However, his strike rate soared to over 75 in this duration.

While the criticism of his reverse scoop dismissal was valid, some reactions were excessive. And, no, ‘Bazball’ didn’t do Joe Root dirty. The former English captain embraced the team management’s new approach and it has been pretty fruitful for him.


Joe Root sheds off ‘Bazball’ to make a comeback

Adaptability is a hallmark of great players, and Root is certainly one! He could adopt the attacking approach, but he discarded it today when the team needed him to play conservatively. Root and Foakes needed to minimize the risks and avoid any further wickets at all costs.

They adhered to old-school cricket and played the patient game. Their partnership lasted for 43.5 overs, during which they scored 2 or fewer runs in as many as 30 overs.

Root faced spin bowling for the majority of his innings, with spinners delivering 78.76% of the total balls he faced. At the beginning of his innings, he faced Ashwin and Jadeja – the duo had got him out thrice in six innings in this series. The right-handed batsman had fallen twice while playing the sweep shot against Jadeja and once while attempting a lofted slog against Ashwin.

He had learnt from his mistakes: today, he faced 178 balls against spin but played sweep shots just thrice, with the first sweep coming after he had already faced over 100 balls. Root had played sweep shots on 14.5% of the deliveries against spinners in the first three Tests. 

Make no mistake, Root is a fine player of the sweep shot, but it comes with a risk. His team couldn’t afford any risk at that stage of the match. Also, it made sense to not use it because of his recent dismissals, especially on this pitch with variable bounce


image-lsysdr35Root used the depth of the crease to counter the spinners of India (Source: AP Photos)

Root is a skilled player of spin bowling – he averages over 45 in India. He boasts an impressive record against India’s premier spin duo, Ashwin and Jadeja. Today, he effectively used the depth of the crease by playing on the back-foot and also played on the front-foot when needed. His decision-making was exemplary.

Root was happy to hang back against Jadeja and played cuts in the third-man region. Also, he worked around Ashwin in the leg-side region when the off-spinner was bowling from round the wicket. 

Root has taken his side to a strong position and has currently stitched a half-century stand with Ollie Robinson. It will be interesting to see his approach in the first session tomorrow. India will take the new ball and with just three wickets in hand, Root may unleash his ‘Bazball’ version and showcase his versatility.