Joe Root, the top batsman from England who averages an incredible 49.05 in India, walked in. At Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Hyderabad on Thursday, January 25, the first Test match between India and England finally began. Zak Crawley (20 off 40) and Ben Duckett (35 off 39) gave England an early advantage, putting on 55 runs for the first wicket off 71 balls. England skipper Ben Stokes won the toss and chose to bat first.
After 14.4 overs and with Duckett trapped in front of the stumps by Ravichandran Ashwin, and Ollie Pope (1 off 11) caught at slip by Jadeja, England were reduced to 58/2.
As Joe Root attempted to play a paddle sweep off Jadeja, he was smacked on his pad with the second delivery of his innings.
The bowler raised his appeal right away, but the on-field umpire showed no interest, so skipper Rohit Sharma decided to request a review. To see if Root had edged the ball en route to his pads, the Ultra Edge took an eternity to load. When it did, however, eventually load, even though there was a noticeable space between the bat and the ball.
Marais Erasmus, the third umpire, believed that the decision stood and that there was insufficient evidence to reverse it. The fact that the spike occurred even before the ball touched the bat was also confirmed by former India head coach Ravi Shastri, who was watching from the commentary box.
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“Joe Root got away with one, I believe. Shastri stated on television that the spike occurred even before the ball got to his bat. Kevin Pietersen, a former cricket player for England, believed that the verdict was correct because the replays were not decisive. “I think it was inconclusive, but Ravi Shastri was fairly animated in the commentary feeling Root was out,” Pietersen remarked.
Joe Root emerged as the top run scorer in the Tests between IND and ENG.
After being stopped at short fine leg while attempting to sweep Jadeja in the second session, Root was eventually disqualified for 29 (60). In his brief career, the 33-year-old also made history by surpassing the great Sachin Tendulkar (2535 runs) to become the highest run scorer in the India vs. England Test series. With 2555 runs from 46 innings at an average of 62.31 and nine hundreds and ten fifties, Root takes the top spot.
England, meanwhile, was dismissed for 246 after skipper Ben Stokes scored the highest score of 70 (88). The two best bowlers for India were Ravindra Jadeja (3/88) and Ravichandran Ashwin (3/68).