As the most anticipated 5 match test series between India and England started in Hyderabad on 25th January 2024, The England team with its Bazball approach seemingly will the talking point of the series but they too have the batter in the form of Joe Root in their squad who acts as a perfect test match batter and has immaculate record in the subcontinent due to his technique of proper test batting technique.
Joe Root since his debut has a special liking for Team India whether at home or India and loves to grind runs against them. With all other batters around him taking the hit the ball Bazball approach till date, Joe Root the most accomplished batter for England in test still believes in the age old textbook technique of test batting. His sweep and reverse sweep shots to perfection in the subcontinental wickets often has yielded him great results.
Joe Root performance in India and how his form had the effect on the series
Joe Root with his swift stand and able to read and play the spinners well due to agile techniques hitting sweeps and reverse sweeps at will has been hugely successful in subcontinental conditions . Joe Root versus India has an amazing numbers with the bat with had scored 2555 runs in 26 matches at an astonishing average of 62.31 inclusive of 9 hundreds and 10 fifties from 2012-2024. To add to the tally in Indian conditions alone Joe Root’s stats are 981 runs in just 11 test matches at an average of 49.50 including 2 hundreds and five fifties.
Joe Root was instrumental when England thrashed India in the first test match last time they toured India where he had scored an Double century in his first innings of that series . This series will had been no be no different as India will always find a thorn in their conquest in the form of Joe Root.
However much to the surprise of cricket fans all over the world, Joe Root entered the fourth Test against India on the back of 29, 2, 5, 16, 18, 7 in his last Test innings and that 18 in the first innings at Rajkot might have hurt him deeply. England were at a dominant 224 for two, well in sight of India’s first innings total of 445. But Root decided to reverse lap Jasprit Bumrah for Yashaswi Jaiswal to pull off a smart catch at slip.
His dismissal sparked an England collapse as the tourists were bundled out for 319, and India converted that lead into a record victory and a 2-1 series lead. It sparked the discussion about the careless side of Bazball, and Root’s 50-plus average during the McCullum reign was not good enough to slow down the wagging fingers at him.
The 33-year-old needed an innings of substance for that, and he had to return to his original batting ways which incidentally happened in the first innings on Day 1 at Ranchi.
England’s most experienced batter Joe Root shelves innovations to score 31st Test hundred to keep visitors in the game
Joe Root was grit personified as he shelved all innovations to score his 31st Test hundred that pulled England out of a hole and helped the visitors finish the first day of the fourth Test here at 302/7. If Deep was the protagonist of the first session, the second and third belonged to Root, leading to an enthralling brand of cricket. For the first time, England didn’t throw it all away.
At 219 balls, Root hit his slowest century since England switched to Bazball. For the first time in this series, England stayed wicketless in a session when they added 86 runs in 36.5 overs at 2.33 runs per over after lunch. Third session was better in terms of run rate (3.59) as England added 104 runs at the expense of two wickets, more than making up for the first session where they had scored at 4.63 runs per over but bled five top-order wickets.
It should have remained three had Bairstow not attempted to sweep Ashwin after racing to 38 off 35 balls. And then, for the umpteenth time this series, Ben Stokes was left shell-shocked by a Ravindra Jadeja delivery that didn’t rise at all and skidded into his front pad. It was only after Foakes proved to be a willing ally in dropping anchor that England began a much-needed repair job.
Keeping the sweep shot to a minimum, playing the situation like they should have in many previous situations, Root rotated the strike by nudging the ball through the gaps and finding the occasional boundary.
Throughout the entire afternoon session Foakes worked on being the perfect foil for Root, playing with utmost caution till he fell three runs short of a deserving fifty, trying to chip Mohammed Siraj but finding Jadeja at short midwicket. Eight overs later, Siraj struck again, this time bowling through Tom Hartley’s defence while almost squaring him up.
Six down, England were quickly running out of able partners for Root but Ollie Robinson showed promise by clubbing a beamer from Jadeja over midwicket to bring up England’s 250. Luck favored England too when Robinson survived a leg-before appeal from Jadeja batting on 8. Kumar Dharmasena had turned down a vociferous appeal from Jadeja and the slip cordon but replays later suggested that the delivery was hitting middle stump.
India were to rue what could have been as they had exhausted all their reviews by then, Jadeja being part of two involving Foakes and Root.
Through all this Root was almost zen-like in his unwavering focus, playing every ball on its merit and rarely giving into the temptation of reverse sweeping. That only three out of the nine boundaries he had hit came against spinners was an outright indicator of Root’s discipline on a pitch that was deceptively two-paced. Otherwise he almost always played close to his body, exploiting the leg glance in particular that fetched him 24 runs, 20 of them coming in singles and twos.
The boundary that got Root his 31st Test hundred couldn’t have been more old-school, as he leaned into a cover drive off Deep, prompting massive jubilation at the England dressing room and the team would be now relieved that the batter with more than 11000 runs to the name finally came good with the bat for them in the series.
This century slowest in terms of balls faced by Joe Root showed resilience of the batter not to play erratic shots in his whole display of typical test match innings. The batter post his 122 not out which seemed to have given England advantage in the 4th test spoke openly about the so called Bazball technique post his innings .
Bazball is a media frenzy- Joe Root
England’s ace batter Joe Root has said that the team are not concerned by the term ‘Bazball’, adding that it’s solely for the media. However, the 33-year-old reckons their aggressive approach is misconstrued in many ways.
The term ‘Bazball’ emerged during the English summer of 2022 to denote Root and Co.’s aggressive approach to Test cricket. However, the likes of Ben Stokes and coach Brendon McCullum have expressed dislike for the term on multiple occasions.
Speaking to BBC Sport, Root said that arrogance is not what their approach is about and that it’s all about maximizing an individual’s abilities.
“‘Bazball’ is a media frenzy. That is for them. At times, it is misconstrued and has been seen to be an arrogant way to look at the game. That is not how we want to do things. We want to be smart, and we want to keep looking at how far we can take the ability within our dressing room.
“Look at our top order two years ago. Look at the amount of times we were 20-2. Look at how frequently we’re now 50 or more for none.”
Following the 434-run loss to India in Rajkot, England’s approach came under plenty of scrutiny. Root’s reverse scoop in the first innings in Rajkot when the game was at a crucial stage attracted criticism, as the tourists collapsed and endured a heavy defeat.
“100% been a mindset shift” – Joe Root post his magnificent 122*
The former captain credited McCullum and Stokes for triggering a mindset change according to the match scenario:
“It has 100% been a mindset shift that has got the best out of players that have been in and around this team for more than the time Baz and Stokesy have been involved as coach and captain.
The Yorkshire batter redeemed himself in Ranchi by playing an unbeaten century to propel England to a competitive total and give them an early advantage in the match.