PURPLE PATCH: England cricket’s talisman Joe Root was in exceptional form against Sri Lanka and is an ideal subject for this week’s Purple Patch.
They say a captain should lead by example and that was certainly the case with England’s skipper Joe Root in their recent two Test series against Sri Lanka.
Root hadn’t scored a Test hundred since November 2019 and there were a few who thought his best days were perhaps behind him.
It’s become a common occurrence that when Root bats well, England usually do well, and the England coaches would have been counting on him to deliver with an Indian tour on the horizon.
And in typical Root fashion, he’s answered those critics in the best way possible – scoring a plethora of runs.
In the four innings he played against the Sri Lankans, he scored 426 runs at a quite frankly ridiculous average of 106.5.
He played superbly in the first Test to score a practically faultless 228 as England won by six wickets and he wasn’t done there.
On to the second Test and in conditions favouring Sri Lanka’s spinners, England’s captain was once again imperious as he brought up his 19th ton, with his innings of 186 going a long way to giving England another victory.
Unsurprisingly, his performance in both matches meant he was named the man of the series and England fans will be hoping he can continue his Purple Patch against India next month.
What’s for sure is that Root looks to be back to somewhere near his best and that’s a frightening proposition for any bowler around the world.
