'He did that to Cummins and hit him for six': Joe Root receives backing from England teammate despite bizarre dismissal
Joe Root's departure, after scoring just 18 runs, provided an opening for India as England were bowled out for 319.
England batter Joe Root faced significant backlash on Saturday following his dismissal via a reverse scoop shot, which initiated England's downfall on Day 3 of the third Test against India. Root's attempt to execute a reverse paddle against India's pace spearhead, Jasprit Bumrah, on a delivery outside the off-stump in Rajkot resulted in a miscue, leading to his catch at second slip – a continuation of his batting struggles in the series.
His departure, after scoring just 18 runs, provided an opening for India, who had started the day on a challenging note with the absence of Ravichandran Ashwin; the off-spinner had left the match overnight due to a medical emergency in his family.
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Critics and cricket experts remarked that the former England captain, with an impressive record of over 11,000 runs in 138 Tests, faltered by attempting to adhere to England's aggressive ‘Bazball’ style of cricket. Former captain Michael Vaughan wrote on X, formerly Twitter, that Root was “far too good to gift India such a cheap wicket 20 mins into a crucial day when they are down to 10 players.”
Amid the criticism, however, England's centurion in the first innings, Ben Duckett, has rallied behind Root. The English left-hander stated that the Root has been successful playing the same brand of cricket in the last year, and has been successful playing the shot in question, too.
"I'd be interested to know if those people were against it when he was doing it to Pat Cummins and hitting him for six in the summer. I've no words really for it. It's the same as me playing a reverse sweep and getting caught at point. Options are practised and that shot has been very successful for him over the past year so next time it may go over slip," said Duckett.
Former England captain Nasser Hussain also said critics should hold their fire for a batter who has been successful with unorthodox shots.
"When he is playing those reverse scoops first ball of the day of an Ashes game and it goes for six we all jump up and applaud and go 'wow, Joe Root'," Hussain said on Sky Sports.
“And he does it to Bumrah and gets out, we go 'what a disgrace'.”
