Jasprit Bumrah continued his hold over Joe Root dismissing the former England captain early on day three in Rajkot after the England No. 4 reverse ramped a delivery straight to Yashasvi Jaiswal at second slip.
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It was the ninth time that Root has fallen to Bumrah in Test cricket and it continued his barren recent run in India. Since his double hundred in the first innings of the 2021 series at Chennai, Root has gone 12 innings in India without passing 50.
Root came under fire in the previous Test in for the manner of his dismissal, miscuing a lofted drive of R Ashwin, and will do so again, falling while trying to ramp an off-side delivery over the slip cordon.
It’s a shot that he has had success with in the past and a recognisable part of his armoury as a Test batter. He memorably unleashed it on several occasions during the 2022 English summer and has previously explained the thinking behind the shot.
“The first time I did it in the Test it was quite clear he was bowling wide, it didn’t feel like there was a lot of risk in it,” he explained during the 2023 Ashes. “Coming out first ball of the day, it was more about being 28 for two and it was a chance to lay a marker down and say to everyone in the ground – the dressing room, the crowd – we are not here to be bowled at, we’re here to push the game on. I think that’s how we all look at the game now, from any position we feel like we can get somewhere to go on and win.”
This is the second time he has fallen to the shot in Test cricket, having also done so against New Zealand at Mount Maunganui last year. He was also out playing the reverse scoop against Netherlands during the 2023 World Cup.
Root’s downfall in Rajkot was followed closely by that of his Yorkshire teammate Jonny Bairstow, who fell lbw to Kuldeep Yadav without troubling the scorers.
