Decoding Joe Root's struggles against Ravindra Jadeja in Tests
Joe Root's poor form has been England's primary concern in the ongoing five-Test series against India. He has not touched the 30-run mark even once in six innings as the Brits trail 1-2 with two matches to go. Meanwhile, left-arm spinner Ravindra Jadeja has dismissed him twice in this series. Overall, he boasts seven dismissals against Root in Tests. Here are further details.
Two dismissals in this series
Jadeja has dismissed Root twice across three meetings in this series as the latter has managed just 10 runs off 41 deliveries in this battle. As per ESPNcricinfo, Jadeja now owns five dismissals against Root across 14 Test meetings in India. Meanwhile, Root averages 34.20 against Jadeja in India. The left-arm spinner has dismissed the talismanic batter twice in England as well.
Second-most dismissals for a spinner against Root
Overall, Jadeja has dismissed Root seven times across 27 Test innings though the latter averages a healthy 63 in this battle. Among spinners, only Nathan Lyon (8) has dismissed the England star more often in Tests. Pat Cummins (11), Josh Hazlewood (10), Jasprit Bumrah (9), and Mitchell Starc (8) are the others with more Test dismissals against Root than Jadeja.
Jadeja has dominated these batters besides Root
Besides Root, Jadeja has also dismissed Alastair Cook, Moeen Ali, and Pat Cummins seven times in Tests. He has only dismissed Angelo Mathews (8) and Steve Smith (8) more often in the longest format. Meanwhile, Root overall boasts an impressive average of 60.79 against left-arm spinners in Tests. He has fallen to them 29 times across 102 innings.
Root's poor run in this series
As mentioned, Root has had a horrendous time in this series as his scores across the six innings read 29, 2, 5, 16, 18, and 7. Besides Jadeja, he has also fallen prey to Bumrah thrice. Meanwhile, Jadeja, who missed the second Test, has raced to 12 wickets in the series at 25.92 (5W: 1). He has also slammed a fifty and a century.
Most Test runs against India
Although Root has been short of runs lately, he is overall the highest run-getter against India in Test cricket. Root has now raced to 2,603 runs against India in 28 Tests at 56.58 (100s: 9, 50s: 10). Earlier in the series, he also surpassed Indian legend Sachin Tendulkar (2,535) to become the highest run-scorer in India-England Test matches.
Here are Root's overall numbers
The only current batter with over 10,000 Test runs, Root has raced to 11,493 runs at 49.32. The tally includes 30 tons and 60 fifties. On Indian soil, he has managed 1,029 runs at a decent average of 41.16. Meanwhile, his tally of nine Test tons against India is the joint-most for any batter. He shares the top spot with Steve Smith.
Here are Jadeja's Test numbers
Jadeja, who made his Test debut in December 2012, has now raced to 287 scalps in 70 games, averaging 24.14. The tally includes 13 fifers and a couple of match 10-wicket hauls. 63 of his wickets have come in 18 Tests against England at 33.57 (5W: 2). With the bat, he has slammed 3,005 Test runs at 37.1.
