XtraTime Web Desk: Joe Root might’ve struck back-to-back centuries to help England trounce India 2-1 in the just-concluded ODI series, but the third match at Headingley didn’t leave the classy batsman entirely happy.
Root celebrated the series win by dropping his bat, similar to the ‘mic-drop’ that rock stars or comedians do at the end of their sets. The 27-year-old might’ve felt cool in that moment, but later revealed that he ‘immediately regretted’ his act.
“It was something that I immediately regretted,” said Root. “I’ve not heard the end of it, it was literally the most embarrassing thing I’ve done on a cricket field. I don’t think it will be the last I hear of it from the group – they’ve been hammering me.”
England skipper Eoin Morgan too found Root’s actions ridiculous. When asked it the midde-order batsman was trying to make a statement, Morgan said: “A statement? No, he made a fool of himself!”
Even fast-bowler Stuart Broad took a friendly jibe at Root. “RT if you’d have preferred @root66 to whip his shirt off & run round Headingley rather than that ‘bat drop’,” he wrote on Twitter.
Root struck a blistering century while skipper Morgan well-supported him with a fifty as England thrashed India by eight wickets in the third and final ODI to clinch the three-match series 2-1 on Tuesday.
Chasing a respectable target of 257 runs to win, England made a slow start to their innings as they lost openers James Vince and Jonny Bairstow lowly for 27 and 30 runs respectively. However, Root steadied his side’s innings as he not only notched a spectacular 100-run knock off 120 balls but also shared a match-winning 180-run stand for the third wicket with Morgan to help England chase down the target with 33 balls to spare. Besides Shardul Thakur, none of the Indian bowlers was able to contribute with any wicket.
Earlier in the match, England had won the toss and asked India to bat first. After losing opener Rohit Sharma for merely two runs, his opening partner Shikhar Dhawan (44) and skipper Virat Kohli (71) stitched a crucial 71-run partnership for the second wicket to steady the visiting side’s innings. Subsequently, former skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni (42), Hardik Pandya (21), Bhuvneshwar Kumar (21) and Shardul Thakur (unbeaten at 22) also made some contributions with the bat as India posted a score of 256 for eight.
For England, David Willey and Adil Rashid bagged three wickets each while Mark Wood also chipped in with a wicket. Rashid was adjudged `Player of the Match` for his brilliant contribution with the ball, while Root was named `Player of the Series’.