"Impossible to use the sweep against Ravindra Jadeja" - Twitter reacts to Joe Root falling to the left-arm spinner on Day 1 against England
England star Joe Root threw away his wicket after getting well-set in the opening Test of the five-match series against India in Hyderabad on January 25.
After surviving a close LBW shout on his second delivery against Ravindra Jadeja, Root looked assured against the Indian spin trio. The 33-year-old even crossed Sachin Tendulkar to become the leading run-scorer in India-England Tests with 2,555 runs.
He also equaled Ricky Ponting among batters with the most Test runs against India and appeared on his way to another three-figure score. Yet, Root's love for the sweep shot, often fraught with danger against Jadeja, eventually led to his downfall.
The veteran batter top-edged a sweep straight to Jasprit Bumrah at short fine leg to be dismissed for a 60-ball 29.
Playing his 11th Test in India, Root's average dropped to below 50 on Indian soil for the first time in his illustrious Test career. He still averages an impressive 49.05 in Tests in India but has failed to score a half-century in his last eight innings since the 218 in Chennai on the 2021-22 tour.
It was also the ninth time Jadeja dismissed Joe Root in international cricket and the sixth occasion in Tests.
Fans on Twitter had varying reactions to Root's dismissal, playing the sweep shot off the left-arm spinner. Here are some of the best reactions:
England in trouble on the opening day of the 1st Test against India
The intriguing battle between England's Bazball approach against the world-class Indian spinners in their backyard had its first sighting on the opening day of the first Test at Hyderabad.
Unfortunately for England, their batters unraveled against the hosts' tweakers after an excellent start against the pacers. The visitors began briskly, scoring at will to reach 55/0 in under 12 overs.
However, Ravichandran Ashwin drew first blood by removing Ben Duckett, after which his spin twin Ravindra Jadeja picked up Ollie Pope three runs later. The off-spinner then picked up his second wicket by dismissing the other opener, Zak Crawley, to leave England reeling at 60/3.
Joe Root and Jonny Bairstow remained positive and added a valuable 61 runs either side of the lunch break before Axar Patel produced a ripper to knock over Bairstow.
Joe Root and wicketkeeper Ben Foakes followed soon to leave England in shambles at 144/6 in 44 overs. The three Indian spinners - Ashwin, Jadeja, and Axar have each picked up two wickets.