Former England skipper Joe Root’s poor run in ICC Men’s ODI World Cup 2023 continued. This time Root nutmegged himself into getting bowled as he went for an unorthodox shot on a pitch where he could have just hit the ball through the line. In the 21st over, Root opted for the reverse ramp shot against Logan van Beek. The delivery was slightly fuller than he expected and it missed the bat, went between his lefts, and hit the stumps.
Root departed for 28 off 35 balls. He missed out on a chance to score big against the Netherlands at MCA Stadium, Pune. After his wicket, an England fan’s reaction in the stadium has gone viral. The fan shook his head and put his hand on his forehead in disappointment.
Root has looked a pale shadow of himself after hitting one half-century each against New Zealand and Bangladesh. The downfall started with the Afghanistan match as he scored just 11 runs in the historic loss. He registered single-digit scores against South Africa and Sri Lanka whereas he bagged a golden duck against India. He reached the double-digit mark against Australia but could not make an impact.
Root's form has been one of the main reasons why England have suffered batting collapses often in the ongoing World Cup.
Root’s dismissal led to England losing a few wickets in the middle overs. They were 192/6 in the 36th over. But the 129-run partnership between Ben Stokes and Chris Woakes helped England recover against the Dutch side.
Woakes became the first no.8 batter to score a half-century in World Cups. On the other end, Stokes made the Dutch pay for the dropped catch. Stokes scored his maiden century in World Cups. He scored 108 runs from 84 balls featuring six sixes and as many fours. He reached his century from just 78 balls. His knock helped England post 339/9 after Buttler won the toss and opted to bat first.
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