Watch: Joe Root bats left-handed in boring Rawalpindi Test to entertain fans

The England Test match batting great was seen operating left-handed in a funny section of play on Day 4 of the Rawalpindi Test. 
 By Kashish Chadha Dec 4, 2022, 14:56 IST
Joe Root?width=963&height=541&resizemode=4

The impact of Brendon McCullum as head coach on England's Test side seems to gone places, with the elegant Joe Root seen operating left-handed in a bizarre sight on Day 4 of the Rawalpindi Test against Pakistan on Sunday (December 4). 

To counter a leg-side ploy from Pakistan wristspinner Zahid Mahmood, the great right-hander turned into a leftie from very beginning of his stance and swept him away for runs in an incident that made for amusing viewing. 

At the beginning of the 23rd over of the England second-innings batting effort in the middle of the penultimate day of the first Test, Root turned into a leftie to counter a defensive line from Mahmood as the three lions aimed for quick runs to try and declare early on a flat wicket. 

And to his credit, the modern-day giant perfected the sweep despite the awkward angle for him, having batted right-handed throughout his career. On that, Root, in fact, retained all his elegance and grace and never seemed out-of-place executing that shot. 

Root bats left-handed in Pindi Test 

The incident happened at the very beginning of the 23rd over in the third innings of the first Test, leaving fans and commentators shocked as Joe Root turned into a left-hander to counter the line that Mahmood was operating with to try and keep the runs down. 

Root tends to play the sweep and the reverse sweep quite frequently but nobody must have expected the right-hander to turn into a leftie from the very position of his stance and then play a sweep shot. 

He couldn't have looked any more comfortable playing left-handed the way Root did, getting down on the ball without any hesitation or discomfort and executing the stroke to perfection eventually. 


The shot that Root played went to the fielder for a dot ball but he persisted with the left-handed ploy and nearly hauled out off the following ball until the catch was dropped by Naseem Shah at mid-wicket. 

Root eventually went back to being the right-hander he is but those brief display of his left-handed batting made for funny viewing and entertained the fans in what has been an otherwise lifeless Test in Rawalpindi. 


 
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