Former England batsman Michael Atherton reckons that the technical adjustments made by Joe Root has now made him less vulnerable to the leg-before wicket (lbw) mode of dismissal.
Root played an unbeaten innings of 180 in the ongoing second Test against India at the Lord's Cricket Ground. The England captain had also scored in the first Test at Trent Bridge as well.
"I think this is a reward for some incredible work he did in lockdown. It came at a time when he was 29 and had already had a fantastic career. But it just gave him an opportunity to rest, where he's said I have got the second half of my career to come and I can go from being a very, very fine player to one of the all-time great," Atherton told Sky Sports.
"He asked the analyst to send him every dismissal from the last five years or so, looked at it in great detail and tried to work out where he could go from there. He's reaping the rewards of that. He's made a slight technical adjustment now, with that back leg going straight back. That made him less vulnerable to the lbw when the ball is straight," he added.
Talking about Root's consistency, Atherton said: "For three years, he's not been quite at his best at home against seam and pace bowling, but now he's in a golden run of form that started at the beginning of 2021 when England went to Sri Lanka."
"He showed all his great skill on the dust bowls in Asia and now he's got his very best game together in more seam-friendly conditions here at home," he added.
Mohammed Siraj led India's charge to bundle out England for 391 in the first innings of the second Test. Skipper Joe Root was left stranded on 180* as James Anderson was dismissed on the final ball of day three.
England lead by 27 runs and when India take on the field on Sunday, the visitors will look to score as many runs as possible in the second innings.
( With inputs from ANI )
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