WATCH | Joe Root becomes left-handed batter on the placid Rawalpindi pitch
Screengrab of Joe Root batting as a left-handed batter
What does a batter like Joe Root do when playing on an absolute flat deck where the ball has not shown signs of any movement or spin in eons and the team is miles ahead in the game? They bat left-handed to try to give themselves some sort of a challenge.
The former England captain took everyone by surprise on the fourth day of the ongoing Rawalpindi Test when he became a left-handed batter.
In the 23rd over of England's second innings, Joe Root facing leg spinner Zahid Mahmood took guard as a proper left-hander and swept a delivery on the pads to the left of short square leg.
While it was a catching opportunity, the diving fielder in Naseem Shah failed to pouch it as the batters trudged across to complete the single.
Coming to the shot, Root looked in perfect shape for a batter who is conventionally a right-hander. Most batters tend to remain in their natural stance before the ball is bowled before switching sides.
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The likes of Kevin Pietersen and David Warner have been masters of the switch hit over the years.However, Root did nothing of that sort as he became a left-hander for the particular delivery.
However, afew overs after the incident, it was Mahmood that had the last laugh as he managed to pitch one on length outside the leg stump as Root attempted another sweep, albeit as a right-hander.
This time, the ball took the leading edge and ballooned straight into the hands of Imam Ul Haq at short fine leg who completed the regulation take.
Root and his ingenious ideas
Root has been at the centre of intriguing events during the Test match. On the third day, Root garnered headlines after he took the red cherry and gently rubbed it over Jack Leach's bald head.
WATCH | Joe Root invents a new method to shine the cricket ball during Rawalpindi Test
Commentators Urooj Mumtaz, Dawid Gower and Nasser Hussain were amused by Root's out-of-the-box thinking and had a good laugh about it.
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