Image: Joe Root proved his worth turning the Test series for England / © ESPNcricinfo
Before the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy between India and England started, TCNI said that Joe Root could prove to be the X-factor for England’s batting line-up. With the series being played at home, Root was the sole experienced player in the batting line-up, and if the Indian team could be able to tackle him, they could tackle the series easily.
The series started with a close game between both teams, which was easily won by England by 5 wickets. Still, Joe Root was not able to score as well as he does, scoring just a half-century in the second innings of the match. A similar incident also happened in the second match at Headingley, where India secured a historic win.
With Joe Root failing to score well in the first two games, fans and critics entered the scenario, criticising him for a bad tour. But it didn’t take him much time to silence the critics, as he went on to dominate the Indian bowlers. Despite not having a good start to the series, he will be finishing it again as one of his best against India.
| Test Match | 1st Innings | 2nd Innings |
|---|---|---|
| 1st Test | 28 | 53* |
| 2nd Test | 22 | 6 |
| 3rd Test | 104 | 40 |
| 4th Test | 150 | – |
| 5th Test | 29 | 105 |
From the third Test to the final, he smashed centuries in all of them, showcasing why he is the greatest in this generation. Whether England was losing quick wickets or it was time to give a hand to the set batsman, Root did it all alone in the current India tour of England. Let’s take a look at how Joe Root turned the series towards England’s favour, from the third Test.
With India winning the second Test match, the series was levelled at 1-1, and fans thought it could be the time for the Indian line-up to finally take a lead in the series. The third Test match was being played at Lord’s, and winning the toss, England thought it would be great to bat first. But the decision didn’t go in their favour initially.
| England vs India, 3rd Test, Lord’s | |
|---|---|
| 1st Innings | |
| England: 387 (112.3 Overs) | India: 387 (119.2 Overs) |
| Joe Root: 104 (199) | KL Rahul: 100 (177) |
| Jasprit Bumrah: 5/74 | Chris Woakes: 3/84 |
| 2nd Innings | |
| England: 192 (62.1 Overs) | India: 170 (74.5 Overs) |
| Joe Root: 40 (96) | Ravindra Jadeja: 61* (181) |
| Washington Sundar: 4/22 | Ben Stokes: 3/48 |
| England won by 22 Runs | |
England stood at the score of 44 for the loss of 2 wickets when Joe Root stepped on the crease. This is where the game changed for them, as Root stayed much longer than expected. First, he had an impressive 109-run stand with Ollie Pope for the third wicket, which helped to create some momentum. Later, he also had an 88-run stand with the captain, Ben Stokes, for the 5th wicket.
Finally, Joe Root lost his wicket after scoring 104 runs off 199 balls, but this helped England to reach 387 runs in the first innings. Unfortunately, their bowling line-up was not able to stop the Indian line-up earlier, which also led to India reaching the exact same score as that of England. With the match on a knife-edge, England came to bat in the third innings to set a target.
This time also, the Indian bowlers took an upper hand over the English batsmen, putting the team at a score of 50 runs for the loss of 3 wickets. Joe Root, who came at number 4, first created a 37-run stand for the 4th wicket with Harry Brook. After Brook lost his wicket, he went on to create a partnership of 67 runs with Ben Stokes, for the fifth wicket.
Joe Root was the highest run scorer for England in this innings, as he went on to score 40 runs in 96 deliveries. This further helped England to reach the total of 192 runs, giving India a target of 193. Unfortunately, India didn’t have a good start, as the top-order batsmen failed to perform well.
Further, the middle order showcased a fight, with the help of a half-century by Ravindra Jadeja, but it seemed to have come a little too late. As a result, India ended up losing the game by a bare margin of 22 runs. Joe Root’s magnificent century in the first innings, followed by 40 runs in the second innings, played a crucial role in this win.
After Joe Root marked his comeback for the English team in the third Test, the Indian team could not take risks with their playing eleven, especially with their bowling line-up. Thus, Jasprit Bumrah, who was playing three Tests in the series, decided to play his final one in the fourth game. Once again, England were able to win the toss in this game as they decided to field first.
| England vs India, 4th Test, Manchester | |
|---|---|
| 1st Innings | |
| India: 358 (114.1 Overs) | England: 669 (157.1 Overs) |
| Sai Sudharsan: 61 (151) | Joe Root: 150 (248) |
| Ben Stokes: 5/72 | Ravindra Jadeja: 4/143 |
| 2nd Innings | |
| India: 425/4 (143 Overs) | |
| Ravindra Jadeja: 107* (185) | |
| Chris Woakes: 2/67 | |
| Match Drawn | |
India’s first innings was filled with dominance, as the team ended up scoring 358 runs. Considering the pitch conditions at Manchester, it was a good total posted by the team, but they were not aware of the storm that was coming next. When England came to bat, they were given a good start already by Zak Crawley and Ben Duckett.
Joe Root came in to bat at number 4, when Ben Duckett lost his wicket, putting England at the score of 197 for the loss of 2 wickets. Initially, he put up a great stand for the third wicket with Ollie Pope, as both batsmen put up 144 runs in 231 balls for the same.
Following his wicket, Joe Root once again had an impressive partnership with the team’s captain, Ben Stokes. Root and Stokes were able to put up 142 runs in 219 balls for the fifth wicket, before Ben Stokes got himself retired hurt. Joe Root was not able to stay on the crease for long after Stokes was gone, as he lost his wicket after scoring 150 runs off 248 balls with 14 fours.
Ben Stokes was able to continue the momentum later on, which helped England to post a massive total of 669 runs on the board. Now, it was a challenging position for the Indian team, and the match looked totally out of their hands. But just like England, India also started to showcase its batting beauty when it came down to bat in the third innings.
Despite losing two wickets in the very first over, India was able to carry the match to a draw. It was a great fight given by the Indian strikers, as they were able to score 425 runs. Still, how Joe Root turned the game for England with his partnership settling abilities played an important role.
With the series being 2-1 in the favour of England, both teams headed to the last game at the Oval, which is a must win game for the Indian team. Ben Stokes, Jofra Archer, and various others were ruled out of this game, as Joe Root only stood as the most experienced player in the line-up. Winning the toss in this game, England decided that they would field first.
| England vs India, 5th Test, The Oval | |
|---|---|
| 1st Innings | |
| India: 224 (69.4 Overs) | England: 247 (51.2 Overs) |
| Karun Nair: 57 (109) | Zak Crawley: 64 (57) |
| Gus Atkinson: 5/33 | Prasidh Krishna: 4/62 |
| 2nd Innings | |
| India: 396 (88 Overs) | England: 339/6 (76.2 Overs) |
| Yashasvi Jaiswal: 118 (164) | Harry Brook: 111 (98) |
| Josh Tongue: 5/125 | Prasidh Krishna: 3/109 |
| England Needs 35 Runs to Win | |
In its first innings, India was just able to post a total of 224 runs, with the help of a half-century by Karun Nair. England started well in its response, with Zak Crawley and Ben Duckett giving a fiery start. However, after they were gone, it was in the hands of Joe Root to create a partnership. He managed to score just 29 runs in the first innings, with 6 fours.
England ended up scoring 247 runs in its first innings, as India had to start with a trail of just 23 runs. They didn’t have any problem with the same as the Indian batsmen troubled the English bowlers to a great extent. As a result, the team ended up scoring 396 runs before being all out, giving a target of 374 runs to England.
Starting the chase, England were given good momentum by Zak Crawley and Ben Duckett once again, as they scored 50 runs off 84 balls for the first wicket. But after some quick wickets, Joe Root came to the crease and changed the momentum for the team’s betterment. First, he had a 24-run stand with Ollie Pope, who was dismissed cheaply in the run chase.
With England at the score of 106/3, India had a great chance to shift the momentum to their side, and at this time, Joe Root stepped up. Along with Harry Brook, he made a 195-run stand for the fourth wicket, and they took 211 balls to lose a wicket. Further, he accelerated his gameplay for the fifth wicket, as Root and Bethell scored 31 runs for the same.
Unfortunately, Joe Root was not able to finish the game for the team, as he lost his wicket after scoring 105 runs off 152 balls with 12 fours. Now, England stands at the brink of winning the game, as they are just 35 runs away from winning it and also securing a win in the series. Root’s 39th Test century, along with his stand with Harry Brook, played an important role in the chase.