England's Joe Root unsurprised by comparisons with India captain Virat Kohli
Tuesday 6 December 2016 17:54, UK
Joe Root insists comparisons between him and Virat Kohli are inevitable and says the India captain has been key to the home side’s success in their Test series with England.
England trail India 2-0 and must win the next two Tests - starting with their match in Mumbai, beginning on Thursday - in order to salvage a draw from the five-Test series.
The battle of the two batsmen - both ranked in the top three in the ICC Test rankings - was one of the eagerly anticipated aspects of England's winter tour to India and both have impressed.
Root has compiled 299 runs in six innings at an average of 49.83 but that pales in comparison to Kohli whose 405 runs have come at an average of 101.25.
"I think it's always going to be there or at least for the next six months or so while we are in India," Root told Sky Sports in relation to the comparison between himself and 28-year-old Kohli.
"But I think the way he plays is a lesson on how to play on these wickets. In this series, he's shown a great level of responsibility because when he's not got runs we look like we've been able to take a cluster of quick wickets and when we have got him out things have changed quite quickly.
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"There must be a huge amount of pressure on him in that side and he must know that. To score the runs that he has done I think has been massive for them [if they are to succeed] in winning this series."
Root has an overall of average of 75.83 against India - his highest score against any nation he has played a minimum of five Test matches against.
The 25-year-old Yorkshireman scored 124 in the first innings of the drawn Test in Rajkot, and recorded scores of 53 and 78 in the second and third Test respectively.
"It was nice to get off to a good start in the first game but twice after I got to 50 and didn't manage to kick on," Root said.
"That's been the last two years in general really.
"It would be nice if I did get the opportunity to get in over the next two games and go big and make a real good contribution to hopefully a good first innings score to set up a win, or chase something down and do something special out there."
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Live coverage of England's tour of India - including the ODI and T20 series - continues with the fourth Test from 3.30am on Thursday on Sky Sports 2.
