Finally, the English star batsman Joe Root has returned in form after scoring a brilliant century (113) in the second ODI of three-match ODI series at Lord’s on Saturday that led England to win that crucial game and levelled the series by 1-1. During that second ODI, Root tried to pick up many cues of Indian left-arm chinaman Kuldeep Yadav’s bowling.
Since India is touring in the UK, Kuldeep has threatened the opponent batsmen continuously. After some good T20I matches, Kuldeep delivered a remarkable spell of 10-0-25-6 in the first ODI at Trent Bridge. On Saturday, Kuldeep started very well as he dismissed two set openers and finished with the figure of 10-0-68-3.
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The hero of the match, Joe Root said that he had a job to picking ‘as many cues up as possible’ of Kuldeep Yadav’s bowling as he has not much faced Kuldeep. Root has also felt he was able to pick him.
The 27-year-old said, “For me, having not faced a lot of Kuldeep for example, it was about picking as many cues up as possible throughout and make sure I don’t get caught in the cold in Leeds if I start against spin.”
“I have only faced four balls against him in the last couple of games. But ultimately you have got to trust your game and your technique. I felt that the four balls I did face, I thought I was picking him okay.”
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“So it was more about spending some time out there and trusting the way I play spin. I haven’t faced much of his type of bowling but having a few overs under my belt gave me quite a lot of confidence.”
With the 1-1 series, the third and final ODI of the series will be the series-decider that will be played on Tuesday (July 17) at Leeds. Talking about to facing Kuldeep Yadav, Root claimed that he is trying to learn.
Root said, “You are always trying to learn as a player and always trying to pick things up when you next play someone, whether individuals or a team. I don’t think it is about looking too far forward in terms of Test cricket just yet with the game on Tuesday.”
While Root believes that Kuldeep Yadav can earn a spot in the playing XI during the upcoming five-match Test series, he also added that the team is ready to face the Indian left-arm chinaman in the final ODI.
The English Test captain said, “Again on the turning surface, you make sure you are playing in the right manner and working things out. It might work out if he (Kuldeep) is in Test squad and it could hold me in good stead. Ultimately it is about making sure when we come to the Headingley game, we are ready and prepared for that.”
To playing against Kuldeep, Root trusted on his technique which has given strong results for a long time.
Root said on that, “You have got to make sure that you stay strong and trust the stuff you have been doing well for such a long period of time. So I was pleased with the way I went about today. Most importantly, we sit here 1-1 in the series and have got a great opportunity in Leeds.”
After a series of poor form, which forced him to get dropped in the third T20I of three-match T20I series against India at Bristol, Root finally delivered a big score. He was desperate to deliver that kind of innings.
Talking about the second ODI, Root said, “I was desperate to contribute to us winning. Today was opportunity to do that and I managed to pull through. As a group, we were quite smart about how we got to a good total. We didn’t go too hard too early. The way Eoin Morgan played followed by Dave (Willey) was perfect.”
Also read: India tour of England 2018 (ODI series): Second ODI – Stats Review
Root felt that the pitch was deteriorated quickly and they got the best chance to bat on. Root claimed that the ruthless side of the English ODI team came out in the Lord’s game.
He said, “The surface was going to deteriorate quite quickly and we had the better (chance) of batting on it. But later, the way we went about it with the ball was outstanding. The ruthless side of this (England) ODI team came out today and that was something you have seen more and more of. Hopefully, we can back it up and finish the series strong now.”
