England on Tuesday beat India by 7 wickets to level the Pataudi trophy 2-2 while chasing a huge 378 on the board. The win helped England, keep their proud record of not losing to India in a home test series since 2007. The two central characters of the win were Joe Root and Jonny Bairstow. Root scored his 28th test century to keep up his run scoring feats. Bairstow on the other hand scored his 2nd century game in the game and 4th in succession. What caught the eye of the fans was the unique celebration from Joe Root that was seen on Tuesday.
Joe Root explains the celebration –
31 year old Joe Root on Tuesday, notched the 4th century in the 5 match series against India and his 28th overall. Root was not out on 142 from 173 balls with 19 fours and a six as he added 269 runs for the 4th wicket with Bairstow. After reaching his century, Root did an unusual celebration by wiggling his small finger. This left many clueless and curious. When asked about it, Joe Root said “Ben (England coach Brendan McCullum) has wanted us to be entertainers, he’s mentioned trying to be ‘rock stars’ on the field. Ben watched the Elvis Presley film the other day, and he’s been doing that all week, so it’s a little tribute to him”
A batting God! 🙇
— England Cricket (@englandcricket) July 5, 2022
Scorecard/Clips: https://t.co/jKoipF4U01
🏴 #ENGvIND 🇮🇳 | @IGcom pic.twitter.com/eQJeCygG6r
The reason for Elvis Presley’s finger wagging move –
Elvis Presley was a famous rock and roller who captivated the imagination of the American fans. The legend of Elvis Presley then reach world over as he was known to be a master of swaying the people and creating a mass mania around himself. Known for his songs to be chartbusters, Elvis Presley was also known for his moves and a peculiar way of Gyrating his hips. Some lawmakers found this offensive and warned him of consequences. During a show he started to do his customary moves but then remarked to the crowd, that he wont be allowed to these moves. In his own way of showing defiance, Presley wiggled his small finger which got the crowd to follow and mimic him,
England test cricket the new age rockstars?
Post the TATA IPL 2022, there was uncertainty to how McCullum would coach a test side more so England. As the English are known to value test cricket even today, in his very first assignment as the coach with new captain Ben Stokes, the world witnessed a new brand of cricket. Nicknamed the Baz-Ball England made a mockery of the New Zealand and the Indian attack while chasing 4th innings total. ECB in their twitter feed earlier today called them rockstars. Joe Root on this adjective was quoted saying “I don’t think I’ll ever be able to feel or look like a rock star, but for 10 seconds I might have done today (laughter). That was what the little pinky was about. And so it’s more just about trying to have fun and really relish every opportunity you get to go and showcase what you’re about and, you know, put on a show for everyone. The Yorkshireman inside me is still saying ‘dig in, play straight and get behind it’.Then there’s the captain on my shoulder saying ‘be a rock star’. So you’re fighting between the two of them, sometimes. There have been occasions where I might have played some unusual shots if you look at the history of Test cricket, but they’ve felt like pretty low-risk options at the moment. Hopefully we’re still heading into the unknown and there’s more to come”