2 months with Rajasthan Royals: Kevin Pietersen talks up impact of IPL on Joe Root's batting for Ashes 2023

• In the first Ashes Test, Joe Root scored 46 runs and reached 121 not out.
• In both innings, Root played reverse scoops and scored boundaries.
• On Monday, Root was out by stumping for the first time in his Test career.

On Day 4 of the inaugural Ashes Test against Australia at Edgbaston, Birmingham, star batter Joe Root wowed the Edgbaston crowd with a fantastic assortment of freak smashes, leaving former England captain Kevin Pietersen in awe. The way Root attempted reverse scoops as early as the first two over of the day demonstrated his intent as he came out to bat.

In the opening delivery of the day, Joe Root attempted to reverse scoop Pat Cummins, the captain of Australia, but was unable to make the connection. That did not stop him from carrying out his plans, though. He moved around the stumps and down the pitch to hit Scott Boland for a leg-side boundary. To stop Root from skipping down the pitch, Australia brought wicketkeeper Alex Carey up to the stumps, but the former England captain found other methods to get boundaries.

He reverse-scooped Boland for a six that easily soared past the boundary rope over the slip cordon. Root played the shot once more in the very next delivery, this time scooping the ball over the slip cordon to bring up a boundary.

On Day 4 of the gripping first Test, Root quickly reached 46 when Nathan Lyon had him out for 46. The top English batter got outstumped for the first time in his career.

"With the brain he possesses and his unmatched work ethic, the sky is the limit for Root. He might be thinking, "I've got enough, I could swan around, get a hundred, watch everyone warm up the next morning, and play football with the lads," with 11,000 Test runs under his belt. No, no. Every morning, Root is out there looking to get better. Long may that continue. We are fortunate to witness a master," Pietersen told Sky Sports, praising Root's desire to score big.

IMPACT OF IPL?

Root started the 2023 Ashes series with his 30th century in a Test match, scoring 121 not out in the first inning. Root was prevented from going on and accumulating a higher score in the first innings when England declared at 393 for 8.

Root used reverse scoops from the start, hitting sixs in Birmingham against Pat Cummins and Scott Boland.

Kevin Pietersen made the observation that Root's time with the Rajasthan Royals in the IPL 2023 may have contributed to his courage in playing the unconventional shots.

Root spent two months with the Rajasthan club in IPL 2023 after becoming the first player to win an IPL contract, and then he took a flight to England to play in the Ashes. Root spent a lot of time with players like Jos Buttler and others at the Royals, who were coached by Kumar Sangakkara, even though he only played three games and scored 10 runs.

"Those shots would have been ingrained in his game in those two months in the IPL [with Rajasthan Royals]," Pietersen added.

At lunchtime on Day 4, as they increased their lead to 162 runs, England was reduced to 155 for 5. England also lost Harry Brook to Nathan Lyon after Root left the team.