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Joe Root silenced his doubters with an unbeaten 122 to help England post 353.© AFP
After recent criticism, England batter Joe Root regained his magical touch in the fourth Test against India in Ranchi, smashing an unbeaten century to lead the visitors’ charge. Root had come under the scanner for throwing away his wicket on too many occasions prior to the fourth Test. He was harshly criticised for playing a reverse-lap shot that led to his wicket in the first innings of the third Test. However, Root silenced his doubters with an unbeaten 122 to help England post 353.
The former England captain played 274 balls during his unbeaten stay in the middle, with experts lauding him to deviate from England’s aggressive brand of cricket under captain Ben Stokes and head coach Brendon McCullum.
However, Root emphasised that Bazball is driven by excellence, rather than “arrogance”.
“There have been times recently when the best way to do that is by being a bit more aggressive. It’s like if I connect with that shot and execute it better, (Jasprit) Bumrah will be under pressure and our outlook on the game is very different again,” Root said during the post-match press conference.
Root added that the idea of Bazball is to get the best out of each player and improve as a team.
“It’s not about being arrogant… Bazball is a word that’s used a lot but that’s your word, that’s not how we look at it. It’s about how can we get the best out of each other as a team, how we’re going to get better as a group. You’re not always going to get it right but we’ll continue to keep trying to improve,” he added.
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