"The Shot Joe Root Played..." - Aakash Chopra Blasts Former England Skipper For Throwing His Wicket Away In Vizag Test

Joe Root the former England skipper was dismissed for 16 in the second innings of the Vizag Test with England needing 399 to win. His dismissal allowed India to come back into the game and eventually win the second Test by 106 to level the series.

Jasprit Bumrah dismissed Root in the first innings for just five runs. Ravichandran Ashwin accounted for his wicket in the second innings completely against the run of play. The wicket of Root eventually allowed India to make a strong comeback in the game and have the visitors five down inside the first session on day 4.

Aakash Chopra assessing the second Test on his YouTube channel spoke about how the dismissal of Joe Root and Ben Stokes handed the initiative to India and allowed them to make a comeback into the game. While Root fell to a false shot, Stokes was run out after he risked a single against Shreyas Iyer who hit the stumps on the full to catch him short.

Also Read: Nasser Hussain Questions Bazball Approach For Sudden Downfall Of England Batter Joe Root

Joe Root Selling Himself Short: Aakash Chopra

“The English batters need to think about something. The shot Root played, if he hadn’t played that bad shot and Stokes hadn’t run like that, the runs would have been scored on the last day as well. It wasn’t easy to pick up 10 wickets here.

“Thank you so much, England guys. You did our job or else we wouldn’t have been able to get them out that easily. I think Root is selling himself really short.

“Ben Stokes, firstly, bats too low in the order, which is counterproductive. Secondly, the way he ran, that was lazy in capital letters,” the former India opener added.

Stokes who is generally an attacking batsman played a bizarre innings of 11 from 29 balls slowing the pace of scoring in the final session and eventually gifting his wicket away.

Aakash Chopra further said that the batters from both sides lacked the intent to score runs and were found wanting in the second Test in Visakhapatnam. He further said that the batters should be blamed for their dismissals.

“All batters from Rohit to Iyer to Pope to Root to Bairstow proved to be a letdown. When the conditions are so good for batting, you assume that runs will be scored.

“It was a very good pitch to bat. Even on the fourth day, there were no such cracks and the dust was not flying when the ball was pitching. It wasn’t a rank-turner. Everyone got themselves out while playing shots,” Chopra said.

Heading into the second Test, Jasprit Bumrah who was named the Man of the Match after taking nine wickets in the second test might be rested. Mohammed Siraj might return to replace him in the XI. Meanwhile, Dounts remain over the availability of Ravindra Jadeja and Virat Kohli.

The England players meanwhile have left for Abu Dhabi for a break ahead of the third Test. With more than a week to go before the third test in Ranjot, the England players are expected to relax in Abu Dhabi where they trained before arriving in India before the Test series started.

Also Read: India Fielding Coach T. Dilip Says Rohit Sharma’s Catch Of Ollie Pope At 1st Slip Was A Game-Changer