Here's the story behind Ben Stokes, Joe Root's famous pinky finger celebration

The rescheduled fifth and final Test match saw a much-improved England side decimate India by seven wickets to register their biggest ever run chase in red-ball history. While the victory meant that this high-octane series finished at 2-2, there were a couple of new on-field celebrations that stood out the most.

One was of course from the number one Test batter Joe Root and the other from skipper Ben Stokes who made gestures with their little fingers to celebrate a big occasion during the course of this game. While this celebration was indeed one of a kind, it has been inspired by a legendary rock & roll personality Elvis Presley.

Without further a do, let’s understand what is the exact story behind this famous ‘pinky celebration’.

Why were Ben Stokes and Joe Root indulged in pinky finger celebrations?

This celebration was first carried out by Test skipper Ben Stokes on day four when he skittled India out for just 245 with impressive bowling figures of 4/33. This form of celebration was then witnessed on the morning after Joe Root successfully registered his 28th Test century.

This new style of celebration has been inspired by the recently released Hollywood movie Elvis which is a biographical drama about the legendary musician Elvis Presley portrayed by actor Austin Butler. In the movie, Buttler can be seen using the pinky finger in many scenes.

Meanwhile, it is also to be noted that Stokes had watched Elvis the night before the all-important Test match and this could have paved way for him in setting a new trend in the England team.

In fact, Ben was inspired to such an extent that he carried on the momentum into the field and urged his players to be ‘entertainers’ ahead of the start of play on day one of the series-saving game. The southpaw had a conversation with the team with a finger wiggle before asking Joe Root who they really are to which the Test megastar replied saying, “Rockstars!”

Meanwhile, commenting on his side of the story for the pinky finger celebrations after breaching the three-figure mark on the final day, Root said that he did feel like a rockstar for 10 seconds.

“I don’t think I’ll ever be able to feel or look like a rockstar,” admitted Root as he sheepishly explained the celebration. “But for 10 seconds,” he added, “I might have done today. That’s what the little pinky was about.”