How good was Joe Root's innings today?

[Abdullah]

given the situation, bowlers and pitch.

i thought it was a bit special

 

[Slog]

Lolwut?

Only watched parts of it but he was reckless

 

[kingusama92]

It was good, but he almost got out 3-4 times before losing his wicket eventually.

Jayant Yadav almost had him twice in an over.

Still, he gritted it out as all class batsmen do. Deserves credit for that considering how his teammates performed.

 

[The_Odd_One]

He is not as good as some posters make him look here. Gets starts but throws them away frequently.

 

[jnaveen1980]

At times he played like how Tim southee, Wahab Riaz with nothing to lose. Reverse sweeps on a turning track?

 

[jnaveen1980]

This is one of those innings you cannot rate much like how you cannot rate Viv Richards innings in Hirwani's debut Test. He was wildly swinging at everything before getting out.

 

[Chrish]

He is having massive issues with conversion.. Scores 50s at will and yet doesn't have the same impact

As far as run scoring, he only needs to do well in Australia in order to become the only complete player of the generation

 

[Buffet]

He didn't look comfortable out there in this inning despite getting 70 runs.

 

[Abdullah]

i reckon he would rate it as one of his better innings. the verdict guys agreed it was really good.
the only way u r gettting runs out there is the way he batted, not by scratching around

 

[Vivek_86]

He was batting as if he had nothing to lose.. Put it honestly , bordering on reckless. Had 3 or 4 near fatal close shaves. Just good as Yuvraj Singh hundred in Pakistan.

 

[Swaraj!!]

I am a bit mixed up about this to be honest. I think there was a big chunk of "to hell with it" mixed in with his usual fantastic shot selection and this led to some very attractive looking cricket.

He just played way too many shots but he probably had given up on the final result and this kind of reduced the pressure.

I don't think many batsmen would have been able to go on for long in this manner, and it was only because of his skills that Root almost got close to a century. It would have been so much more admirable if he could have a done a "Gavaskar against Pak in Bangalore" kind of innings.

 

[James]

It was alright.

If he'd scored a big hundred then the match outcome could have been very different, so given that he got out for less than 80 I can't rate the innings too much.

 

[kingusama92]

i reckon he would rate it as one of his better innings. the verdict guys agreed it was really good.
the only way u r gettting runs out there is the way he batted, not by scratching around

I think a good innings is one where you bat like a local player would (i.e. Kohli).

Kohli would never bat in the manner Root did for his 70. The reason comes down to how well you play spin and Root's example was more of someone who is unsure with each shot.

Reverse roles and imagine Kohli batting at the Oval flailing away at outswingers hoping to connect. Root was doing a version of that while batting against spin.

I realize that's extreme and he wasn't doing a "Shahid Afridi" out there but he barely survived 3-4 times playing atrocious shots. It's one thing to get beat by good deliveries and another to create chances from poor shots.

It's great he put up runs but it can't be rated considering he lucked out.

 

[Mainul]

He just made 70, not 170 which didn't deserve a thread like this.

And he wasn't that comfortable at the later part of his innings.Root is thought to be a special batsman by everyone.But his performance in Bangladesh and in India so far has put a big question mark over this complement.

 

[Abdullah]

I think a good innings is one where you bat like a local player would (i.e. Kohli).

Kohli would never bat in the manner Root did for his 70. The reason comes down to how well you play spin and Root's example was more of someone who is unsure with each shot.

Reverse roles and imagine Kohli batting at the Oval flailing away at outswingers hoping to connect. Root was doing a version of that while batting against spin.

I realize that's extreme and he wasn't doing a "Shahid Afridi" out there but he barely survived 3-4 times playing atrocious shots. It's one thing to get beat by good deliveries and another to create chances from poor shots.

It's great he put up runs but it can't be rated considering he lucked out.

if kohli had to make runs against ashwin and jadeja on a day 4 wicket like that 200 in arrears.....

 

[Abdullah]

He just made 70, not 170 which didn't deserve a thread like this.

And he wasn't that comfortable at the later part of his innings.Root is thought to be a special batsman by everyone.But his performance in Bangladesh and in India so far has put a big question mark over this complement.

400 runs in r games against ashwin and jadeja is not bad. not bad at all.
expected another hundred in there but he dies have a problem if getting out after 75.
the fact that he got no low scores at all (non starters) should irk him

 

[Zahid87]

Was a poor innings in some ways.

Look at Bairstow for example - he found it tough at the beginning, but as he got in, didn't take too may risks and accumulated runs. Yes, balls which gripped and turned were going to trouble him, but he was not going to give his wicket away.

Root on the other hand tried to be positive, and in doing that, took some needless risks. Reverse sweeping Ashwin when its turning? Yes, this time it came off, but why risk it? He attacked and got rid of some of the fielders around him, but then he didn't have any idea what to do. Did not look comfortable at all - wheras Kohli and even Yadav, batting one session earlier on the same pitch, looked imperious.

In the end, he got out, didnt really bat time, and his team lost.

 

[JaDed]

if kohli had to make runs against ashwin and jadeja on a day 4 wicket like that 200 in arrears.....

Kohli's 49* on a 5th day pitch to draw the first test was way better than this knock even though he is playing at home.

Root's a top bat but this defn is not one of his best knocks.

 

[Abdullah]

"As good as @imVkohli innings was this play by @root66 is as good if not a little better considering the quality of spinners he is facing !!"
michael vaughan

rob key kind of said this as well so it is not just a yorkshire love in.
it was freaking hard to survive or score out there

 

[Abdullah]

Kohli's 49* on a 5th day pitch to draw the first test was way better than this knock even though he is playing at home.

Root's a top bat but this defn is not one of his best knocks.

that pitch was nothing like this and again he wasnt facing anything like ashwin and jaddu

 

[JaDed]

that pitch was nothing like this and again he wasnt facing anything like ashwin and jaddu

TBH i find that a slippery slope if bowling attacks are considered in that logic Kohli outshines Smith in his last Aussie tour just because he had to face Johnson and Harris than Umesh/Shami?
or
Sachin outshines everyone because he had to play some of the best fast bowlers whereas the opposition team had to play Prassad/Mohanty?

 

[kingusama92]

if kohli had to make runs against ashwin and jadeja on a day 4 wicket like that 200 in arrears.....

I'd agree if his chances came off unplayable deliveries. He gifted 3-4 chances off odd decisionmaking and was lucky to survive.

Plus, Bairstow had a cleaner innings on the same pitch at the same time.

I'm not saying it was a bad innings but let's not overrate it. In fact, I'd say his 78 at Rajkot was better than the effort at Wankhede.

 

[Swaraj!!]

Frankly, I have been getting an impression that way too much of praise is being heaped on and by all parties here.

Kohli's innings wasn't necessarily a wow one. His Australian hundreds were way better and I think he himself rates them better. Neither was Ashwin bowling unplayable stuff in the fourth innings. The only earned wicket was that of Bairstow and that was of a variation ball. Same goes for Roots innings here.

To me, Bairstow, after the first 10-15 runs was looking good and his should have been the template adopted by the rest.

In the Indian's batting list, Pujara's was the best batting on display until his brainfade to Ball. His game against the spinners really does make you go wow. Kohli's was definitely great but he really wasn't under a lot of pressure.

The whole series has been about one team getting the basics mostly right and the other losing steam whenever they were ahead. Some moments of brilliance were there, but just not enough to rate this series as a classic one (no matter how pleasing the results are to me).

There really hasn't been anything like the KP innings or the Rahane innings that would stick to the mind.

Some may consider I might be selling Ashwin's contribution short, but he really has been doing his usual stuff. Neither more, nor less.

 

[ShoonyaSifar]

Despite not being in best of form, Root has scored nearly 400 runs in 4 tests! Not a bad performance at all away from home in conditions where many a legendary non-Asian batsmen have struggled.

Not many batsmen have scored 500 runs in a series in India in last 15-20 years, if Root can achieve that it will be fantastic. Still feel he is batting a position higher.

 

[Sin Nombre]

Kohli's innings wasn't under pressure? Is that supposed to be a joke? Both his big centuries in this series have been under pressure.

This was his second best innings after the Adelaide 4th innings one. That was another 30 runs away from being all time top 10 knock.

 

[Swaraj!!]

Kohli's innings wasn't under pressure? Is that supposed to be a joke? Both his big centuries in this series have been under pressure.

This was his second best innings after the Adelaide 4th innings one. That was another 30 runs away from being all time top 10 knock.

Regarding Situational Pressure. Agreed with you.

My point was on Bowling Pressure. There really wasn't anybody in the English attack bowling well enough for sustained periods. You could argue that his excellence made them look toothless. I would say only to an extent. I have been watching live the whole match and Parthiv was spot on. There just wasn't any bowling pressure at all.

Its an excellent innings and there is no doubt about it. It just isn't in the KP/Rahane innings league and not for any fault of Kohli. Just that the English bowlers weren't quite there.

And for the latter half of his innings, the focus was all on Jayant. England were way too defensive to Kohli.

Just my opinion. You can disagree.

 

[Sin Nombre]

Despite not being in best of form, Root has scored nearly 400 runs in 4 tests! Not a bad performance at all away from home in conditions where many a legendary non-Asian batsmen have struggled.

Not many batsmen have scored 500 runs in a series in India in last 15-20 years, if Root can achieve that it will be fantastic. Still feel he is batting a position higher.

Root has 2 question marks in tests

- ability to convert 50s into big 100s under situational pressure.
- lack of runs in Aus and NZ

Latter is almost as bad as Kohli's in England but doesn't get the same scrutiny for obvious reasons.

 

[Sin Nombre]

Regarding Situational Pressure. Agreed with you.

My point was on Bowling Pressure. There really wasn't anybody in the English attack bowling well enough for sustained periods. You could argue that his excellence made them look toothless. I would say only to an extent. I have been watching live the whole match and Parthiv was spot on. There just wasn't any bowling pressure at all.

Its an excellent innings and there is no doubt about it. It just isn't in the KP/Rahane innings league and not for any fault of Kohli. Just that the English bowlers weren't quite there.

And for the latter half of his innings, the focus was all on Jayant. England were way too defensive to Kohli.

Just my opinion. You can disagree.

We don't disagree too much then.

In terms of knocks,
VVS 281 > KP Mumbai > Kohli Adelaide (second innings) > Rahane (Lords) > Kohli Mumbai

 

[Abdullah]

I'd agree if his chances came off unplayable deliveries. He gifted 3-4 chances off odd decisionmaking and was lucky to survive.

Plus, Bairstow had a cleaner innings on the same pitch at the same time.

I'm not saying it was a bad innings but let's not overrate it. In fact, I'd say his 78 at Rajkot was better than the effort at Wankhede.

You need to go back and watch bairstows first 20 balls

 

[Abdullah]

TBH i find that a slippery slope if bowling attacks are considered in that logic Kohli outshines Smith in his last Aussie tour just because he had to face Johnson and Harris than Umesh/Shami?
or
Sachin outshines everyone because he had to play some of the best fast bowlers whereas the opposition team had to play Prassad/Mohanty?

I think it is something to factor in- especially when there is a chasm between the spin options in the 2 sides, in a series where spin is the key factor

 

[Cricfan4eva]

We don't disagree too much then.

In terms of knocks,
VVS 281 > KP Mumbai > Kohli Adelaide (second innings) > Rahane (Lords) > Kohli Mumbai

What was so special about KP in Mumbai? Both KP and Kohli's innings were quite similar really. Came against a side that were playing spinners who weren't at their best. Batted on the best days Wankhede usually has to offer for a batting side. Kohli Adelaide easily is better than either of those innings. Had India won, it probably would've been better than VVS' 281 as well.

 

[Zahid87]

You need to go back and watch bairstows first 20 balls

But Bairstow didn't need to take any unneccesary risk after those first 20 balls to score or survive. Root did. Why was he not comfortable in accumulating risk free runs like Bairstow?

 

[Indiafan]

i reckon he would rate it as one of his better innings. the verdict guys agreed it was really good.
the only way u r gettting runs out there is the way he batted, not by scratching around

Jayant and Kohli proved that wrong although English spinners were awful compared to Indian ones

 

[kingusama92]

You need to go back and watch bairstows first 20 balls

Bairstow batted like most batsmen do early in their innings. He got a few unplayable deliveries in that spell from Ashwin.

Root played low percentage shots throughout his innings.

 

[Statsman]

Similar to Rahane's 90 odd in SA a few years ago.