3 facts you need to know about Joe Root's 5/8 at The Narendra Modi Stadium
English skipper Joe Root stunned Team India by bowling a magical spell at the Narendra Modi Stadium.
Root came in to bowl the 41st over of the Indian innings and dismissed Rishabh Pant with his first ball. Next, he rattled Washington Sundar's stumps before he could open his account. Axar Patel lost his wicket to Joe Root two balls later.
Ravichandran Ashwin and Ishant Sharma seemed set to take Team India's lead beyond 50. But Root broke the partnership, sending Ashwin back to the dressing room. Jasprit Bumrah added 11 runs for the final wicket with Ishant before Root trapped the former in front of the stumps.
With this performance, Joe has become the first member of the elite 'Fab 4' to claim a five-wicket haul in Test cricket. There were other unique points that you should know about Joe Root's 5/8 spell in Ahmedabad.
3. Joe Root is the first English spinner to take a five-fer in a pink-ball Test
No English spinner had taken five wickets in an innings of a pink-ball Test match. Jack Leach came close to becoming the first English spinner to accomplish that feat today. However, he ended the innings with 4/54.
Meanwhile, Joe Root bowled after the 40th over of the Indian innings and still claimed a five-wicket haul. Root conceded only eight runs in his spell of 6.2 overs.
Before Joe Root, veteran pacer James Anderson had taken a five-wicket haul for England in day/night Tests. Anderson dismissed five Australian batsmen in the second innings of the 2017/18 Adelaide Test match. Root has become the new record-holder of the best figures by an English bowler in pink-ball Tests.
2. Joe Root becomes the second English captain to take a five-fer in Tests
Generally, batsmen lead the cricket teams in Tests. It is rare to see a bowler leading the side. Because of this trend, no English captain had taken a Test five-wicket haul since Bob Willis.
Willis had picked five wickets in a Test against New Zealand back in 1983. It took 38 years for a new addition to that elite list of English skippers.
Few fans expected Joe Root to join this list because the current English captain had never taken a five-wicket haul in first-class cricket before.
1. Joe Root has the most economical 5-wicket haul by a spinner in Test history
Taking five wickets in an international innings is a challenge for any bowler. Often the bowlers concede an average of 30-40 runs in the process.
However, Joe Root gave away only eight runs in his spell at the Narendra Modi Stadium today. He broke Tim May's record for the most economical five-wicket haul by a spinner in Test history. May bowled a nine-run spell against the West Indies at Adelaide in 1992/93.
Former Australian captain Michael Clarke held the record for the most economical five-wicket haul (6/9) by a spinner on Indian soil. However, both records are in Joe Root's name now.