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Former England skipper Joe Root has struggled to score runs in the ongoing Test series against India. After four disappointing scores, Joe Root was dismissed in an attempt to play a reverse-scoop off Jasprit Bumrah which was caught in the slips by Yashasvi Jaiswal. While Root’s shot selection was criticised by many considering the position England were in early on Day 3, teammate Ben Duckett who scored 153 defended him.
"Rooty's a freak: he does things a lot of us can't do," Duckett told TNT Sports. "In my eyes, that's the same as playing a drive and nicking off to second slip. Rooty plays that shot so well. I'm sure those people weren't saying that when he was hitting [Pat] Cummins for six in the summer."
Root was batting on 18 off 31 balls when he attempted the shot. In the next over, Jonny Bairstow was dismissed for a four-ball duck. England were bowled out for 319 despite a terrific start but Duckett compared Root's shot to the reverse-sweep he plays to score boundaries.
"I'm just gutted it didn't go for four or six. I think he's earned the right to do that. He has played that shot so well. I think it's exactly the same as me playing a reverse-sweep and getting caught deep point,” Duckett told BBC Sport.
The opener nearly scored half of the team's runs in their first innings. His 153-run knock was laced with 23 fours and a couple of sixes.
Meanwhile, Root's former teammate Alastair Cook was not happy with the shot. He also explained why he did not criticise it when he did against Australia in the Ashes.
"You have to question if it was tactically right to play that shot. You've got Bumrah, who is India's best bowler, and Root has struggled against playing him. When he played it in the Ashes on the first ball on day three at Edgbaston, we didn't mind because it was about getting runs. But in this series, when all the wickets have been in the first 30 minutes of play, it was the wrong time to play it," Cook said on Sky Sports.
Root's poor form has put more pressure on top-order batters. He has managed to score just 70 runs from five innings at an average of 14.
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