Joe Root warns India of keeping Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli quiet in the Test series

England batter Joe Root has hailed Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli as the modern-day greats during a recent interview with official broadcasters of the IND vs ENG Test series, JioCinema. India won the second Test of the five-match series against England at Dr Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy ACA-VDCA Cricket Stadium in Vishakhapatnam. The hosts lost the first Test in Hyderabad but then made a comeback with a huge win in the second Test.

Joe Root failed to deliver with the bat in both Test matches but was good with the ball as he took a four-fer during India’s first innings in the first Test. However, his bowling prowess also suffered on a batting-friendly track in Vizag and he was not at his best during the second Test.

Joe Root expressed his desire to keep Rohit Sharma’s bat silent in the whole series. Virat Kohli opted out of the first two Tests citing personal reasons and Rohit Sharma has scored only 90 runs with the bat in the first two Tests of the series.’

The England batting-allrounder talked about the focus that will be on the experienced duo of Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli. He said that the two play a big role in this Indian Test team they can get big scores which can be a bothering point for England as they have been on the receiving end of it quite a few times. Root also said that it would be nice to keep the duo quiet in this series.

“You mentioned two of the greats of the modern era. Of course, there’s going to be focus. We know how good they are and they are also very senior within this current Indian batting lineup. So clearly they’ve got a big role to play within this Test team,” Joe Root said to JioCinema.

“You want to make sure that you try and get on top of them early. They’ve got the ability to get big scores and we’ve been on the wrong end of that a few times, so it would be nice to try and keep them as quiet as we can throughout the series,” he added.

Joe Root Has A Great Record Against India

Joe Root may have failed to deliver with the bat in the first two Test matches but he boasts an impressive record against India in Test cricket. He has amassed 2578 runs in 49 innings against India in Test cricket at an average of 58.59 which includes nine centuries and 10 half-centuries.

The last time when England toured India for a Test series in 2021, Joe Root was the captain of the side and ended up being the top run-getter in the series with 368 runs in eight innings at an average of 46.

India and England are currently levelled 1-1 in the ongoing five-match Test series and both teams will look to take a lead in the third Test that will commence on February 15, Thursday.

The third Test of the series will be played at the Saurashtra Cricket Association Stadium in Rajkot and the hosts would like to continue their winning run as they have not been defeated at home in a Test series since 2012.