Former England captain Michael Atherton believes Joe Root’s performance will be pivotal for England’s chances of successfully chasing down the challenging 399-run target and claiming a 2-0 series lead in the Visakhapatnam Test against India on Day 4.
England suffered a massive injury scare when Root was forced to leave the field on day 3 of the Test after hurting his finger while fielding at slip and looking in pain. Root was forced to spend most of the time off the field in the morning session and did not come out onto the field during India’s remaining 2nd innings.
IND vs ENG, 2nd Test Day 4 Live Score Updates
When questioned about Joe Root’s uncertainty to bat on day four, Atherton dismissed any worries and emphasized England’s reliance on the right-hander to combat India’s spinners effectively. Root has failed to live up to the expectations in the ongoing Test series as the star England batter has fallen to Bumrah’s bowling in two out of three innings and his highest score in the series stands at just 29 runs.
“Don’t think so. He got hit during the fielding practice and then tried to stop the ball at slip, which knocked it again but I think it’s precautionary. He will be expected to bat and has got a big role to play because of the amount of spin that will be bowled. He is England’s best player of spin, so try and get through the burst from Jasprit Bumrah as soon as Root comes on,” Atherton said while speaking to Sky Sports.
Atherton reminisced about England’s monumental run-chase against India at Edgbaston in 2022 and believes a similar feat is required in this instance. Highlighting Root’s pivotal role, he pointed out that Root’s unbeaten 142 in the final innings of that match was instrumental in England successfully chasing down the 378-run target.
“England made their last record run-chase, which came against India in the first summer of Bazball – 378 I think. Root and Bairstow made big hundreds. So you’d hope for a contribution from Root tomorrow.”
Notably, England started well but lost Ben Duckett as R Ashwin broke his 50-run opening stand with Zak Crawley in the final session of Day 3. At stumps, England still needed 332 more to win with nine wickets in hand.
Tune In
