“He should know that his role is not only to score runs” – Pragyan Ojha says Joe Root would be disappointed with his dismissal on Day 4 of 2nd Test

Pragyan Ojha reckons Joe Root would be slightly disappointed with his mode of dismissal in England’s second innings of the second Test against India.

Root scored 16 runs off 10 deliveries and was caught by Axar Patel at backward point while attempting an ugly hoick off Ravichandran Ashwin’s bowling in Visakhapatnam on Monday. India bundled England out for 292 to complete a 106-run win and draw level in the five-match series.

During a discussion on Colors Cineplex, Ojha was asked about his thoughts on Root’s dismissal. He responded:

“We knew that he would adopt an aggressive approach. However, he should know that his role is not only to score runs. His role is also to keep the opposing team on the back foot because of the runs he has scored and the impact he has created in Test cricket – all of that counts.”

The former India spinner feels Root’s dismissal was a game-changing moment.

“So probably he would be a little disappointed there because the Indian team understood that the game was coming towards them when he lost his wicket. I would say the momentum shifted there. You can say that Ollie Pope scored a century in the last match but Root was a very key wicket and he was hasty,” Ojha elaborated.

Ollie Pope was caught by Rohit Sharma at slip off Ravichandran Ashwin’s bowling for a 21-ball 23. Root, who replaced him at the crease, smashed two fours and a six before losing his wicket to another aggressive shot.

“You don’t want all batters to play like that” – Parthiv Patel on Joe Root’s approach

Parthiv Patel was further asked whether the England batters, especially Joe Root, could have adopted a more calculated approach. He replied:

“You don’t want all batters to play like that. A batter like Joe Root has the ability to play long knocks. However, it’s a double-edged sword as you chased successfully eight out of 10 times with this approach, that too big targets, so do you need to change that?”

The former India wicketkeeper-batter added that the England think-tank is ready to accept failures while attempting to play an aggressive brand of cricket.

“If you talk about Joe Root, his second-innings average was 120. When your shots come off, your days will look very good and when they don’t, you say Joe Root played a very ordinary shot. So you have to take the risk and the England dressing room is prepared to take that risk,” Patel said.

Since Ben Stokes took over as England’s Test skipper, Root had amassed 480 runs at an extraordinary average of 120.00 in the fourth innings before the Visakhapatnam Test. He might have adopted an overaggressive approach on Monday because of the discomfort caused by a finger injury he sustained while fielding.

Be the first one to comment

Share

Show More Comments