"Don't feel ashamed to pitch it up and get driven" - Aakash Chopra's advice to Indian bowlers on how to dismiss Joe Root
Former Indian opener Aakash Chopra used his cricketing knowledge to dissect England star Joe Root's technique on Saturday. The 44-year-old agreed that it is perhaps extremely difficult to stop Root once he gets going.
Root was on song against India in the first four Tests of this series, scoring three centuries. He is one of the main reasons why England still have a chance to to get level.
Speaking in a video on his YouTube channel, Aakash Chopra explained how early on, there is always a small but logical opportunity to dismiss Joe Root cheaply:
"I think there is a very small window of opportunity to get him out. Use fast bowling up front and don't feel ashamed to pitch it up and get driven. Even when you bowl a juicy half volley, there is an outside chance. Since he likes to stay nearer to the crease, there's a chance that he may stay far from the ball and edge one behind, or the ball might come in and hit his pads."
Joe Root was presented with the silver bat for scoring 10,000 Test runs. https://t.co/8YGBWerjcO
Joe Root knows the DNA of Test cricket: Aakash Chopra
Aakash Chopra is a huge fan of the way Joe Root paces his innings. The 31-year-old often makes use of dabbing the ball to the third man to accumulate runs. He also uses his back-foot game efficiently for cuts and pulls.
Chopra reckons Root knows exactly what he needs to do to build a huge score and that's what makes him great in Test cricket:
"The way he sets himself up, he doesn't do a lot of foot movement. But his body weight transfer is really nice as he uses his head and shoulders very well to reach near the ball. He can drive the ball, but that's not his strength. He likes ot cut the ball or use the backfoot punch or pull and knows how to build his innings. He knows the DNA of Test cricket and that's what makes good players great."
Although India already have a decent score of 338/7 on the board, they will be wary of what Root is capable of and will need to get him out as early as possible.