England’s star batter Joe Root, known for his calm and composed nature on the field, showed a rare fiery side during a tense exchange with Indian pacer Prasidh Krishna on Day 2 of the fifth and final Test of the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy at The Oval in London.
Joe Root Loses His Cool at The Oval
Joe Root, who usually focuses on his game and avoids getting into on-field confrontations, found himself caught up in a verbal spat with Krishna. The incident surprised many, considering Joe Root’s usual approach of letting his bat do the talking, even when opponents try to get under his skin.
It all started in the 22nd over of England’s innings. Prasidh Krishna bowled a sharp delivery just outside off-stump. Root, trying to defend, was beaten by the movement of the ball. Prasidh Krishna had a few words for Root in his follow-through, and Root didn’t hold back. He walked toward the bowler and had a few words of his own.
Umpire Dharmasena Forced to Intervene
Things escalated quickly. On the very next ball, Root smashed a length delivery through the gully for four. Right after the shot, the two were at it again, exchanging more heated words. Root looked unusually fired up and clearly unhappy with what had been said.
Umpire Kumar Dharmasena had to step in to cool things down. He gave Krishna a warning and was even seen speaking to him again before his next over. But that didn’t stop Krishna from throwing intense stares back at Root, keeping the tension going.
Experts Weigh In on Root’s Unexpected Reaction
Former England captain Michael Vaughan, speaking on BBC Test Match Special, suggested that India might have intentionally tried to rattle Root. He said:
“There’s definitely been a change of tactic. It looks to me like India have had a team meeting and are trying to get into Joe Root to see if it’ll distract him, instead of being nice to him.”
On the other hand, ex-India wicketkeeper Deep Dasgupta was surprised by Root’s reaction:
“I’m surprised because you never really see Joe Root react like that. The way he approached Prasidh Krishna, you think ‘oh, what’s happened here?’.”
“The Indian bowlers are looking a lot more settled now, especially after the dismissal of Ben Duckett who can be very scary to bowl against,” Deep Dasgupta added.
Adding more to the moment, former England skipper Nasser Hussain, speaking on Sky Sports, noted that Mohammed Siraj also seemed eager to get involved in the Root-Krishna standoff:
“As ever, Siraj is letting Root know he wants to get involved in this.”
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