There is something about Joe Root which makes him such a smooth operator

There is something about Joe Root that makes him such a smooth operator on the 22 yards. Every time he sprints out into the middle, one starts anticipating greatness and nothing less. It was no different at Trent Bridge against New Zealand on Day 3 of the second Test. 

England were still trailing by 406 runs when Root came to bat. The right-hander stamped his class right from the word go. Root drove a full-length delivery from Matt Henry through the vacant mid-off region for his first boundary. He raced off into the 30s in no time. 

There was nothing much on the surface for the Kiwi bowlers to exploit and Root looked determined to make the most out of the conditions. He played some glorious cover drives right throughout his stay on the crease. Root picked up from where he had left in the second innings of the previous Test in the series at Lord’s. 

Who can forget his brilliant century that helped England register its first Test win under Ben Stokes and Brendon McCullum? At Trent Bridge, Root was at his fluent best which meant Pope could play without pressure.

Both of them made things difficult for the opposition bowlers as runs kept coming at a fair click. Post lunch Pope reached the three-figure mark and Root was overjoyed. He ran down from the other end after completing a couple of runs that took Pope to the milestone and hugged him. 

The gesture in many ways reflected the inner joy and relief felt by every English cricket fan. The crisis period of the England team in Tests, which saw a capitulation in the Ashes followed by a dismal show against West Indies among other lows, started to seem like a thing of the past.

Root brought his half-century with a flick off his pads that found the fence. It came off just 56 deliveries. He grew from strength to strength as the game progressed. He did not hesitate to employ the reverse sweep when he was batting on 93. It fetched him a boundary. Root then followed one pitched slightly outside off stump when he was on 99.

It took an under-edge and luckily went past the wicketkeeper through the fine leg region for a boundary. It was for the 27th time in his Test career that Root scored a century. This one came off just 116 balls, his fastest so far and right after a match-winning ton in his previous innings.

Root made sure that he crossed the 150-run mark with a boundary just like he did when he was nearing his 50th as well as 100th run. He seemed a little pleasantly surprised at his run of good form.  

Then something happened the next morning which took everyone by surprise. On the very second ball that he faced, Root reverse scooped a Tim Southee delivery for a sixer over the third-man boundary. Eventually, he got out at 176 after offering a catch to Southee at cover, outsmarted by a Trent Boult slower one. 

England were all out for 539 in the first innings. The Kiwis set a target of 299 runs for England. After a few initial hiccups, the hosts rode on a brilliant century from Jonny Bairstow in their second innings to win the Test by five wickets. 

Root could not do much in his second essay, having been dismissed cheaply. But his first innings effort was instrumental in ensuring the win which meant England had an unassailable lead in the three-match series. He won the Man of the Series award for his wonderful batting display. 

An unstoppable force

Root once again played a crucial knock of 86 runs in the third and final Test against the Kiwis and remained not out. It came in the fourth innings when England chased down a target of 296 runs. Fellow teammate Bairstow slammed an unbeaten 71 runs in just 44 balls in that innings. 

As fate would have it, Root and Bairstow strung together a match-winning unbroken partnership of 269 in the rescheduled fifth Test against India. This time, however, Root started on the wrong foot. Chasing 378, England were 109/2 when Root made a horrendous call for a run. 

It resulted in the run out of opener Alex Lees, who was looking solid on 56. But being the unstoppable force that he is, Root did not let anything deter him. He went on to score an unbeaten 142 runs. Root’s journey as an international cricketer post captaincy could not have started on a more perfect note. 

Dominating the scene 

Even when he was the captain of the England team, Root achieved some incredible things with the bat. He slammed as many as 14 centuries and amassed a total of 5295 runs at an average of 46.44. In 2021, he was simply phenomenal. He slammed 1,708 runs that included two double centuries. 

He recently crossed the 10,000-run mark to become only the second English batter after Alastair Cook to do so. Root has dominated the scene even as the rest of the Fab Four of modern-day cricket are short of runs. It is not just about the number of runs that Root has scored. The way he got those runs is equally mesmerising. 

His batting has evolved with every innings in terms of his approach. He was always a technically sound craftsman with the willow. There are already talks doing the round that Sachin Tendulkar’s record of 15,921 runs is realistically within his grasp. It will be a huge achievement if and when that day comes. 

The way he is batting at the moment nothing seems impossible. The innings at Trent Bridge was something special. It was in many ways different. 

– By Subhadeep Dutta