"Don't play for India....": Joe Root breaks silence on ugly fight with Prasidh Krishna

England’s challenging chase at The Oval was cruising along smoothly until disaster struck in the final session of Day 4 of the ongoing fifth and final Test against India. Just when it looked like Joe Root would guide England home in style, a sharp delivery from Prasidh Krishna changed everything.

Joe Root was batting fluently, but Prasidh Krishna delivered a game-changing moment. The ball moved just enough off the pitch, tempting Root into a loose push outside off. The edge wasn’t sharp but awkward, dying in front of the Indian wicketkeeper.

Joe Root’s frustration boils over after a shock dismissal by Prasidh Krishna

Dhruv Jurel dived to his right and grabbed the catch cleanly as Root went back to the pavilion for 105. It was a moment that shocked the English crowd but sparked Indian hopes. Only moments earlier, Jacob Bethell had fallen to Prasidh Krishna for just 5 runs.

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The double blow hit England hard, and Root’s angry reaction after his dismissal showed just how much it meant. The England batting icon was visibly furious. He slammed his bat in frustration while walking off the field, clearly upset that he couldn’t finish the job at The Oval.

With England needing just 73 more runs and six wickets in hand, Root’s wicket shifted the momentum in India’s favor in the ongoing fifth and final Test. Earlier in the first innings, Joe Root and Prasidh Krishna had exchanged heated words at The Oval.

Prasidh Krishna is a proven performer: Joe Root

However, the former England captain has made it clear that his anger wasn’t anything to do with his verbal fight with the Indian pacer in the first innings, but it came out of him missing a golden opportunity to take his team over the line on Day 4.

Joe Root said at the press conference after Day 4: “Prasidh is a proven performer; he is a brilliant player. You don't play for India as a seamer without having a huge amount of talent. Clearly, he is going to do great things in the game, but it was not anything between the two of us; that was more frustration on my part for not getting us over the line. That is where the frustration came from. There was no overhang from what happened in the first innings or anything like that.”

Read Also: Joe Root declares Mohammed Siraj 'FAKE' despite unreal Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy heroics

Root regrets missed shot as 5th Test takes dramatic turn

Root said that the ball he got out to was there to be punished for a boundary, but instead, it ended up in the wicketkeeper’s gloves. Now, England still has 4 wickets, and they just need 35 runs to win the final Test and clinch the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy against India.

He signed off by saying, “I mean, in that scenario, we'd obviously come back out after the break. It started to do a little bit more; they bowled in some really good areas for that period of time and got it moving around, and I was more disappointed I missed out on what I thought should have gone for four.”

Read Also: Joe Root rewrites history books: Full list of records from his iconic 39th Test ton at The Oval