"Root is selling himself really short" - Aakash Chopra criticizes Joe Root's dismissal in 2nd IND vs ENG Test
Aakash Chopra has criticized Joe Root for virtually throwing away his wicket in England's second innings of the second Test against India.
After losing the first Test by 28 runs, India set England a 399-run target in Visakhapatnam. Root (16 off 10) attempted an ugly hoick and was caught by Axar Patel at backward point off Ravichandran Ashwin's bowling as the hosts won the game by 106 runs to draw parity in the five-match series.
In a video shared on his YouTube channel, Chopra noted that Root and Ben Stokes helped India's cause by virtually gifting them their wickets. He elaborated (0:40):
"The English batters need to think about something. The shot Root played, if he hadn't played that bad shot and Stokes hadn't run like that, the runs would have been scored on the last day as well. It wasn't easy to pick up 10 wickets here."
"Thank you so much, England guys. You did our job or else we wouldn't have been able to get them out that easily. I think Root is selling himself really short. Ben Stokes, firstly, bats too low in the order, which is counterproductive. Secondly, the way he ran, that was lazy in capital letters," the former India opener added.
Stokes, who scored a 29-ball 11, responded slightly late to Ben Foakes' call for a single and virtually jogged to the other end. Shreyas Iyer's direct hit while running in from midwicket found the England skipper short of the crease at the striker's end.
"All batters from Rohit to Iyer to Pope to Root to Bairstow proved to be a letdown" - Aakash Chopra
![Rohit Sharma failed to play substantial knocks in both innings. [P/C: Getty]](https://statico.sportskeeda.com/editor/2024/02/f0119-17071939260143-1920.jpg?w=500)
Aakash Chopra observed that most batters across both sides were found wanting in the Visakhapatnam Test. He explained (1:00):
"All batters from Rohit to Iyer to Pope to Root to Bairstow proved to be a letdown. When the conditions are so good for batting, you assume that runs will be scored. It was a very good pitch to bat."
The reputed commentator added that the batters need to be blamed for their dismissals.
"Even on the fourth day, there were no such cracks and the dust was not flying when the ball was pitching. It wasn't a rank turner. Everyone got themselves out while playing shots," Chopra said.
Chopra pointed out that the pitch didn't play any tricks as virtually everyone got starts and wickets didn't fall in clusters. He claimed that the batting was extremely ordinary as barring one or two class deliveries from Jasprit Bumrah, the wickets were lost due to bad shots.