Aakash Chopra baffled by England’s batting on Day 3; says ‘poster boy’ Joe Root was biggest upset

Former Indian cricketer Aakash Chopra opined on England’s torrid batting display on Day 3 of the Rajkot. He believes that the batting was a huge letdown and that Joe Root was the poster boy for them.

England let the game drift away from themselves with their poor batting display in the ongoing third Test of Day 3. They didn’t bat well and gifted their wickets away, which saw India taking wickets at regular intervals and bossing the game.

Most of the England batters gifted their wickets away and were bundled out for 319 runs. Joe Root was the first man to get dismissed as he played a reverse scoop and was caught in the slips. After that, batters perished while playing attacking shots.

From 224/2, the visitors got bundled out for 319 runs. It was a remarkable performance from the Indian bowlers as they helped the team take the lead of 126 runs. With the kind of position, England was at in at the end of Day 2, they would’ve only themselves to blame.

Aakash Chopra while talking about England’s performance expressed his disappointment with Joe Root for getting out in a bizarre way. He hilariously remarked that the batter tried playing a shot like a character from the movie Lagaan. Speaking in a video posted on his YouTube channel, he explained:

“The England batting was a huge letdown, and in that, their poster boy was Joe Root. Entire England is upset with him because of the shot he played. India and England faced each other for the first time in the movie Lagaan. He tried to bat just like Guran did in that movie, and against Jasprit Bumrah.”

“Think about it, no one is able to play with a straight bat against Bumrah and he tried to play the shot Guran played, and was eventually caught by Yashasvi Jaiswal. It was a good catch but Root, what are you doing?”

Miyan Magic (Mohammed Siraj) was fantastic – Aakash Chopra in awe of fast bowler

Mohammed Siraj was the hero for India with the ball. The fast bowler changed the game in India’s favour with his four-wicket haul and put his team in a commanding position.

Aakash Chopra said that the fast bowler was fantastic and stood tall for his team when there was a need. The cricketer-turned-commentator added that it was a slow pitch and he changed the game for his team. He expressed:

“Miyan Magic (Mohammed Siraj) was fantastic. He picked up four wickets. Long spells were required to be bowled as there were only four bowlers. The Indian team decided that they would bowl only the fast bowlers from one end.”

“So Bumrah’s spell was followed by Mohammed Siraj’s spell. He changed the game because there isn’t that much help for the fast bowlers on this pitch. It is a slightly slow pitch. The ball is not going fast after pitching.”

At Stumps on Day 3, India were 196/2 and were 322 runs ahead. They would be hoping to get to around 400 runs.