Ashes 2nd Test: Joe Root Gets Hits on The Box by Mitchell Starc’s Delivery; Ricky Ponting Makes Fun of England Captain’s Running Between The Wickets | WATCH VIDEO

The England captain, showing a lot of courage, did not look entirely comfortable as he took an awkward single that left the commentators at the Adelaide Oval in splits.

Adelaide: England captain Joe Root continues to carry the majority of his team’s workload in the hard-fought Ashes battle against arch-rivals Australia. Root, who surpassed the tally of legendary Sir Alastair Cook (4844 runs), became the leading run-getter for England as captain in Test cricket. However, on Sunday, Root overcame a lot of adversities – from abdomen injury in the nets to painful blow in the nether region – during his 24-run knock (67 balls) on day 4 of the second Ashes Test (pink-ball Test) at the Adelaide Oval.

As England inched towards another humiliating defeat, the 30-year-old got hit on the box after a nasty delivery from Aussie speedster Mitchell Starc. Root immediately fell to the ground, evincing in pain as the team’s physio made his way to the ground. On the other side, the commentators at Adelaide Oval chose to look at the funny side of the incident.

That has floored Root.

Ouch. #Ashes pic.twitter.com/JSbsdr9Z76

cricket.com.au (@cricketcomau) December 19, 2021

The blow was so horrible that its effect started to show as England’s innings progressed. Keeping in mind his team’s situation, Root continued to remain in the middle and battled hard in pain. However, his awkward running between the wickets caught everyone’s attention.

Root’s struggle while completing the run due to the pain left the commentators, including former Australia captain Ricky Ponting in splits. Despite being on air, Ponting, who is part of the commentary panel for 7Cricket for the ongoing Ashes series, couldn’t hold his laughter at the whole incident.

WATCH VIDEO –

Absolute scenes in the commentary box, completely losing it watching Joe Root run 😂 #Ashes pic.twitter.com/0CoJCSPTKD

7Cricket (@7Cricket) December 19, 2021

The Sheffield-born batter had not taken the field in the first session of Day 4 of the pink-ball Test in Adelaide after an abdomen injury in the lead up to the day’s play. Only after being taken for scans, the England captain returned to the field.

Meanwhile, Root has surpassed Cook’s tally of 4844 runs as the Test captain of the team in his 58th match as the England skipper – completing the feat in one match and five innings quicker than his captaincy predecessor, to be at 4859 runs at an average of 47.63.

Root, currently ranked no.1 Test batter in the world, is enjoying a sublime run-making spree with the bat. He is the leading run-scorer in Test cricket in 2021, amassing 1630 runs in 14 Tests and though his stay at the crease was cut short on Sunday, Root will get a chance to add more to his tally in the Boxing Day Test at Melbourne.

“Another one gone to Joe Root – I haven’t got many left. He’s slowly but surely edging his way into England’s greatest batsman and he is pretty much there,” said Cook on BT Sport.

Earlier, during his knock of 62 in the first innings at the Adelaide Oval, Root went past Indian legends Sachin Tendulkar (1562 runs in 2010), Sunil Gavaskar (1555 runs in 1979) and former Australia captain Michael Clarke (1595 runs in 2012) to be at fourth place for most Test runs in a year.