Joe Root did not attempt to play aggressively like the way he did in the first three Tests against India. Instead, he played his natural game, a slow innings and, as a result, he did not get out after attempting a fancy shot.
Root took 200-plus balls to reach his first century in the Test series. This helped England recover after losing five wickets for 112 runs.
It was his 31st Test century, so the cricket fraternity had nothing but praise for the Englishman. But right after reaching his ton, he lifted his arm and showed his ‘pinky finger’ toward the dressing room to celebrate. Seconds before that, English skipper Ben Stokes also did the same.
It wasn’t the first time Root did that. But many fans are wondering why he did celebrate like this. Well, it has an interesting connection with America’s ‘King of Rock and Roll’ Elvis Presley.
Why Joe Root did the Elvis Presley celebration?
The ‘pinky finger’ was one of Elvis Presley’s trademark celebrations. It was one of the things highlighted in his biopic as well. Austin Butler played the ‘Can’t Help Falling in Love’ singer in the biopic.
English skipper Ben Stokes watched the biopic and has been mimicking Presley, which is why Joe Root did that. He explained the reason after the end of the game on Day 1.
I don’t think I’ll ever be able to feel or look like a rockstar, but for 10 seconds I might have done it. That’s what the little pinkie was about. Ben watched the Elvis Presley film the other day, and he'd been doing that all week, so it was a little tribute to him. Root said after his century
Root remained unbeaten at 122* from 274 balls. Stokes played six balls and scored just three runs before he was dismissed by Ravindra Jadeja.
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