ENG vs SL | Twitter trolls Root's carefree gift to accelerate England's World Cup collapse
Joe Root is renowned for his experience and his ability to rise to the occasion for his team in crucial moments. However, he deprived himself of an opportunity to do the same in a practically must-win game on Thursday with some highly irresponsible running that triggered an England collapse.
With just one win in their opening four games, England desperately needed a win to keep their qualification hopes alive when they took the field against Sri Lanka in Bengaluru. After winning the toss, they opted to bat first and had a promising start until Dawid Malan was dismissed for 28 off 25 balls. With the scoreboard at 55/1 after nine overs, expectations were high for a substantial second-wicket partnership between Yorkshiremen Joe Root and Jonny Bairstow. However, an unfortunate incident unfolded, dealing a significant blow to England and dimming their hopes in the ongoing World Cup.
In the final over of the powerplay, Theekshana posed a stiff challenge to Joe Root after Bairstow had managed to give him the strike on the first ball. Root, realizing the need to rotate the strike, attempted a cut on the fourth delivery before sprinting off towards the other end. However, the ball went straight to the point fielder and the former England skipper was rightly sent back by his partner. Consequently, Root was stranded in the middle of the pitch and despite making a desperate dive, was comfortably run out. Strikingly, Root didn't even wait for the third umpire to confirm his dismissal as he acknowledged his error by walking off the field for a paltry score of 3.
Thereon, the reigning champions catastrophically collapsed to 85/5 and Twitterati was quick to criticize Root for his underwhelming performance in a crucial match for his team.
Massive mix-up!
— aman chettri (@amanchettri1) October 26, 2023
That was so stupid to run!
Joe Root is finished. 🥞 🚮
— Money Team (@shakie_mgt) October 26, 2023
Root just struggling!
More powerplay woe for Joe Root - run out! 😱 #INDvsENG #BIRTH #AUSvsNED #Lewiston #GlennMaxwell #GodMorningThursday #ENGvSL #BehindYouBabarAzam pic.twitter.com/26WluiWAIa
— Vishnu Tiwari (@VishnuTiwa29296) October 26, 2023
May be he wants!
He wants to play 2027 wc 😭😭 #JoeRoot #Root #ENGvsSL #ENGVSL #ENGLANDvSRILANKA #ENGLANDVSSRILANKA #CricketTwitter pic.twitter.com/uMPt4qjwhM
— Andleeb Akhtar 🇮🇳 (@mr_akhtar_17) October 26, 2023
That was so silly!
Joe root gone for a run out 😬😬#SLvsENG #CWC23 #SLvsENG pic.twitter.com/6z7Ynqu1dL
— Dhivakar G (@Dhivakar_25) October 26, 2023
That was unexpected completely!
Ohh Noo...!
— Lakshya rajawat (@Thakurlakshya25) October 26, 2023
Joe Root run-out England 2nd wicket down.#ENGvsSL #SLvsENG #ODIWorldCup2023 #AUSvsNED #NEDvsAUS #AFGvsPAK #BabarAzam #GlennMaxwell #ofmds2spoilers #KoffeeWithKaranpic.twitter.com/sDMdu5qOY0
That was not needed there!
Joe Root departs on just 3 runs After a brilliant Runout 👏#ENGvSL #ENGvsSL pic.twitter.com/dHyMS7uGDJ
— Leo Bukhari (@BukhariLeo14) October 26, 2023
Damn!!
Joe root runout sums up England's performance this World cup.#ENGvsSL #WorldCup2023 #Bengaluru #INDvBAN #SLvsENG #icccricketworldcup2023 #ICCWorldCup2023
— Kranthi (@Kranthi__67) October 26, 2023
Huge wkt!
Joe Root dismissed for 3 in 10 balls...!!!!! pic.twitter.com/BxnwMc7TUM
— Lalit Saini (@LalitSainiSport) October 26, 2023
This hurts!
Joe Root dismissed for 3 in 10 balls.#ENGvsSL #icccricketworldcup2023 #CWC23 #SLvsENG pic.twitter.com/bWcV6dJHik
— K H A D I J A (@krazy_khadija) October 26, 2023