Joe Root needed only 1 run to score his 21 runsscheduled tribe ODI century. Instead of taking one run, he asked Gus Atkinson to score the winning runs against India in Cardiff on 16 July.
Deliberately missing the century by just 1 run has evoked mixed reactions among cricket fans around the world. India captain Shubman Gill said that unlike Root’s mentality, he would prefer to score runs himself to complete the century.
India made a strong start with the new ball against England in Cardiff.
The match was evenly balanced when Jasprit Bumrah and Prasidh Krishna were handling the new ball in the first few overs of the second innings. While Bumrah dismissed Ben Duckett for a duck, Krishna took the wicket of Jacob Bethel. England lost by two wickets for just 8 runs inside the powerplay.
Root and England captain Harry Brook began a battle against the Indian bowling attack after losing two early wickets in the form of their openers Duckett and Bethell. Brook was dismissed by another Indian fast bowler Gurnoor Brar for just 16 runs, but Joe Root stayed on track to ensure a much-needed win for the England national cricket team.
Joe Root remained calm and determined on the pitch against India
He started his innings very cautiously and accelerated it when the time came. Instead of being in any hurry, he waited patiently and developed brief but effective partnerships with Sam Curran, Jos Buttler, Will Jacks and Gus Atkinson respectively.
In every way Joe Root deserved the century. Without his unbeaten 99 off 133 balls, England could not have chased the target of 234. Had India been able to win the match in Cardiff, the 3-match ODI series would have been claimed by the Shubman Gill-led side, as they had claimed the opening match of the series.
Joe Root explains why he allowed Gus Atkinson to deny him his century
England needed only 5 runs to win when Joe Root was on 99 with Gus Atkinson at the other end of the pitch. Atkinson took a run on the last ball of the 44th over and ended the match for England by hitting a four in the next over. England won the match by 4 wickets in 44.1 overs; Root remained unbeaten after scoring 99 runs.
At the presentation ceremony, Root revealed that he had asked Gus Atkinson to score the winning runs because victory was more important for the team than his individual achievements.
“I told Atkinson to get it done. If they want to field like that and give us a chance to win the game, let’s take it. It’s all about winning, and there’s no better feeling in cricket than being there at the end and chasing something down,” Root told the broadcaster after India vs England 2.Ra ODI match.
Root’s expressions were completely different from Shubman Gill’s comments. As Gill said (as quoted by TMS), “I wouldn’t have taken that single in the second last over” so that he could have remained on strike to complete the century.
When 5 runs were needed and Joe Root was on 99 runs, Gus Atkinson took a run on the last ball of the 44th over.
Atkinson hit a four in the next over to win the game against Joe Root with 99* pic.twitter.com/9kirCaheIz
– Cricinfo (@cricinfo) July 16, 2026