Ravi Shastri issues ‘wake up’ message as ball boy caught napping during India vs England 4th Test

The fourth Test, currently being played in Ranchi, between India and England got off to a roaring start. It started with the dynamic performance of debutant pacer Akash Deep who starred in the morning session. Akash’s fiery spell restricted England to 112 for 5 in the morning session on Day 1. England were eventually bowled out for 353 in the first innings in Day 2.

It was Joe Root who stood up and spearheaded England’s recovery, as he notched up his 31st Test century with a commendable 113-run partnership with wicketkeeper Ben Foakes. There was no dearth of action and there was one hilarious moment that caught the attention of the viewers. During the final phase of the opening day’s play, a ball boy, placed near the boundary rope, was caught yawning and this prompted a hilarious reaction from former India head coach Ravi Shastri. The ex-India cricketer, who was in the commentary box, asked the young man to “wake up.”

“Oh! The big yawn. Yeah, wake up, wake up! Have a glass of water. The cricket is getting interesting. Wake up, old boy,” Shastri said before a sarcastic “Yeah, Yeah, Yeah, Yeah” as the boy went scratching his body.

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Coming back to on-field developments, Root was unbeaten on day one at 106 off 226 balls. The former England skipper, eventually, remained unbeaten on 122.  This was a patient innings, one that was all about defence and being watchful. He played late and was content with playing the waiting game. He was not in good form coming into the match with scores of 29, 2, 5, 16, 18 and 7.

Describing Root’s batting display as “unbelievable,” England opener Zak Crawley said the dressing room was always backing the senior pro to get back amongst the runs. “We fully expected him to get a good score at some point in this series,” he said. “He was due, he’s the best player we’ve ever had and he played phenomenally today,” he added.

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Root and Foakes were excellent in their defense and temporarily deviated from their aggressive “Bazball” approach and thwarted India’s bowling attack in the afternoon session. Root’s shot selection was excellent and he was extremely patient throughout the day. Right through the series, Root had thrown away good starts with two rather over-the-top strokes - a reverse ramp against Jasprit Bumrah and a reverse lap against Ravichandran Ashwin.