Follow UsWhen India toured England four years back, Joe Root, the then skipper, enjoyed one of the best ever series by an English batter in history, amassing 737 runs at an average of 105. Being very much England’s talisman with the bat, he was once again expected to dominate the Indian bowlers this time around.
However, so far, it has been a series to forget for Root, who has only managed 109 runs across four innings on extremely flat surfaces. While many expected Root to feast on a Bumrah-less Indian bowling unit, he was undone spectacularly by Akash Deep.
Now, with Bumrah also returning for the Lord’s Test, Ravichandran Ashwin believes that it’s going to be ‘double trouble’ for Root.
“With Bumrah returning and with Siraj and Akash Deep present, it’s going to be double trouble for Root. Ravindra Jadeja also has good numbers against him. So Root is going into this game under a lot of pressure,” Ashwin said on his YouTube channel.
“If Root does not score and the ball seams around, who is going to score runs and rescue England?,” Ashwin asked.
Akash Deep powered India to a famous win at Edgbaston with a 10-fer, and Ashwin asserted that England currently have no answers to counter the length bowled by the right-arm seamer.
“Where England are clueless is Akash Deep’s slippery length,” Ashwin commented.
“They don’t seem to have an answer to his length. He bowls the kind of length for which you have to come forward. But it’s not a drivable length at the same time. You can’t hit through the line because the ball is jagging ever so slightly. And this is what’s making India’s attack even more venomous.”
The third Test starts from today at Lord’s, London. In the 2021/22 tour, India emerged victorious at Lord’s, registering a famous win.