I feel my game is in good order: Joe Root

I feel my game is in good order Joe Root

Joe Root scored a splendid 88 on the first day in the Chennai Test, setting the tone for the rest of the England innings which ended on a positive note with the visitors finishing on a strong note. He was left fuming though when he was dismissed by Ravindra Jadeja. This was the 16th time in his career that he was falling between the score of 50 and 100. The shot that he played, a sweep, was a hugely productive shot for him right until then but what got to Root was the thought that he hadn't edged the ball at all.

"I was convinced I didn't hit it," said Root at the end of the opening day's play on Friday (December 16). "Obviously the technology suggests otherwise, but it is bitterly disappointing when you're convinced out there that there's nothing.

"If you look at the wicketkeeper's reaction, he's not interested either."The decision to review the call came from Virat Kohli after a lot of deliberation and seemed to be more in hope than conviction."I think Kohli just went with his gut, and it worked out. You move on. You probably just have to take it on the chin - I must have got a fine one on it," added Root on the dismissal. "But I didn't hear a noise, didn't feel anything on the bat. It could be just one that's bypassed me and is genuinely out."

Root left the field shaking his head vigorously all the way and even kicking the advertisement board over the boundary rope. With the benefit of some time to look back at it, the batsman admitted to having reacted with a little haste. "I probably was a bit childish with my reaction as I walked off. But playing international cricket, you're going to be disappointed when you feel you've been hard done by - even if you haven't," he said.

He wasn't one to regret the shot that he played."I feel my game's in good order. I don't think I'd have done anything differently (today) if I had my time again. I'd have still played the same shot," he said. "I wouldn't say it's over-confidence, maybe I might need to rein it in slightly, but at the same time if it's a bad ball I'm going to want to hit it for four."

Coming into the game, Root like the rest of the players, had to make do with the lack of adequate net practice sessions. The facilities in Chennai had taken a beating thanks to the recent cyclone. It left Root practicing for around half an hour on the road along with batting coach Mark Ramprakash. The video clip had been tweeted out by the ECB as well. Talking about it, Root said that the session helped calm him down.

"My feet were all over the place against the seamers in Mumbai, so I wanted to iron a few things out. We tried to do it away from the cameras... just in case it went pear-shaped. We were kindly helped by a few of the local guys and managed to get a few things sorted. It was nice to have that peace of mind going into today, having worked on it. Something just clicked into place.

"To go back to being a kid again, and remember what it's like to play on a street with your mates, and get those reasons why you love playing, loved starting to get into cricket... park all the pressure and thinking about the game... that was nice. It did just relax me, and maybe that's all it needed," he added.