England batsman Joe Root has not been able to score runs in the ongoing Test series against India as the team would have expected from him. Root has scored 52 runs in 2 games at an average of 13.00. Root is one of the best English batsmen when it comes to playing against India or in India. However, it seems that Root has lost his form before the series, which is why he has not been able to repeat the performance that he used to do before.
Joe Root looked to score runs in a more offensive manner during the second Test match. However, Jasprit Bumrah also set him up brilliantly in the first innings of the match and was then able to get the wicket of him. Root also suffered a finger injury during the match, which could have affected his batting.
England coach Brendon McCullum believes Joe Root’s finger injury is healing well. McCullum also spoke about Root’s aggressive batting approach and stated that he was trying to pick up fielders so he could take advantage of them. McCullum added that bravery sometimes makes an individual win the match, while with the same the batsman also ends up coming out. McCullum added that this is how the game moves and there are three Tests left and Root has plenty of chances to score runs.
Brendon McCullum on the failure of Joe Root’s batting program
He said: “People will consider dismissal but also the method of their choice. He was trying to take back the field so he could milk them. It’s the courage you have to take sometimes and sometimes you come out doing it. But that’s how the game goes. There is no doubt from our point of view in that approach. Three tests remain; opportunity to score a lot of runs.”
India showed a brilliant comeback in the five-match Test series and won the second match by 106 runs. India also leveled the series at 1-1 and will head into the third Test match starting February 15, 2024. Chasing 399 runs in the second innings will not have been an easy task for England.
England’s openers got off to an easy start and added 50 runs for the first wicket. However, as soon as Ravichandran Ashwin removed Ben Duckett, no other English batsman apart from Zak Crawley stayed in the crease for long and he was dismissed cheaply. At last, England managed 292 runs and India was able to continue its unbeaten run in Vizag.
Yashasvi Jaiswal and Shubman Gill, two Indian batsmen, were also the stars of the show due to their respective innings of 209 and 104. Although the Indian team prevailed in the second Test match, there are still problems. The Indian team struggles in the middle and lower order. The absence of Virat Kohli and KL Rahul has been one of the main reasons why the batsmen have not been able to score as many runs as possible. If both batsmen also miss the third Test match, India can bring in Sarfaraz Khan or Dhruv Jurel.