Joe Root on Saturday said beating Pakistan in their backyard remains “challenging” despite England’s thumping series victory on the last tour in 2022, as the 2 teams are set for another 3-match Test affair starting here on Monday.
England swept aside Pakistan 3-0 in a ruthless manner in the winter of 2022 with their “Bazball” approach producing rich results.
“Yes, that series has helped us prepare for the coming matches and we have a plan on how to play here. But this is a new series and we have to play well again to win again in Pakistan,” Root said during a media conference.
“We learnt a few things from that series, but (playing against) Pakistan at home is a challenge. Pakistan can definitely take advantage of their home conditions and we also have a couple of new young players eager to establish themselves. It should be an interesting series,” Root added.
Root is set to become the first batter to accumulate 5,000 runs in World Test Championship matches while he needs another 71 runs to go past Alastair Cook as England’s highest run-getter in Tests. Root also only needs another 10 catches as a fielder to get past Rahul Dravid’s record of 210 catches in Test history.
“Every time I bat, it is more about enjoying the experience and doing well for the team as well,” Root said.
Root, meanwhile, did not read much into Pakistan’s 0-2 loss against Bangladesh in a home series. “There is no doubt (that) they have always had a couple of good skilled players and we need to be just focussed on what we are doing right,” Root concluded.
