Revealed: What is the significance of Joe Root, Ben Stokes' pinky finger celebration

England batter Joe Root’s celebration after he reached his century in the ongoing fourth Test against India in Ranchi has been decoded. It was a tribute to legendary entertainer Elvis Presley.

Joe Root finally returned to form and played a magnificent innings that put his team in a dominating position. Coming on the back of the low scores, the batter oozed his class and played a stellar knock that made sure India didn’t take command of the game.

Joe Root came and held the fort for England when they lost three quick wickets. The batter opted against playing the attacking cricket and played a classic innings. The right-hander took some time to get going and once he was in, he made sure he made Indian bowlers pay.

Joe Root notched up a valiant century and silenced all the critics. The batter brought England back into the game and remained unbeaten at stumps on Day 1. The right-hander brought up his 31st Test century in 219 balls and became the first batter in the history of the game to slam 10 Test hundreds against India.

As Joe Root reached his ton, England skipper Ben Stokes was extremely jubilant. He celebrated his teammates’ ton with a unique celebration. He wiggled his pinky finger, which the pair had made famous at the 2022 Edgbaston Test.

Joe Root earlier while talking about his celebration revealed that Ben Stokes watched the Elvis Presley film and therefore the celebration was a tribute to the legendary entertainer. Speaking about the same, he explained:

“I don’t think I’ll ever be able to feel or look like a rockstar but for 10 seconds I might have done, that’s what the little pinkie was about. Ben watched the Elvis Presley film the other day and he’s been doing that all week, so it was a little tribute to him.”

During that Birmingham game, Joe Root registered a ton, while Stokes returned with figures of 4 for 33. The efforts turned out to be crucial for England to tie the home series 2-2 ultimately

There’s the captain on the other shoulder saying “Be a rockstar – Joe Root on Ben Stokes

Joe Root further stressed that he wanted to play straight and get behind the ball. He revealed that the skipper told him that he was a rockstar and the right-hander needed to fight between the two of them. He added:

“The Yorkshireman inside me is still saying dig in, play straight and get behind it. Then there’s the captain on the other shoulder saying “Be a rockstar”. So you’re fighting between the two of them, sometimes.”

Joe Root has lifted the monkey off his back with his sensational innings in the first innings of the Ranchi Test. He was batting at 106 runs off 122 balls with the help of 9 fours in his innings. The batter would want to double his knock and put his team in a commanding position.

Joe Root in the last three games looked in torrid touch. He got out uncharacteristically and was criticized a lot by many English pundits. He silenced them all pretty well with his blistering innings.