Joe Root hammers his 44th half-century in ODIs: Key stats
What's the story
England batter Joe Root hit a 61-run knock versus Sri Lanka in the 1st ODI at R. Premadasa Stadium, Colombo, on Thursday. Chasing a target of 272, England saw opener Zak Crawley depart early (12/1). Alongside Ben Duckett, Root was part of a 117-run stand for the 2nd wicket. However, both batters departed in quick succession, leaving England reeling at 144/3. Here's more.
Knock
A vital knock from Root's blade
Root joined Duckett early on and the two steadied the English ship with a century-plus stand. Root took his time and focused on building a partnership, rotating the strike well. In the 25th over, he completed a 72-ball fifty. After Duckett departed in the 28th over, Root perished shortly thereafter. Dhananjaya de Silva trapped Root LBW after the latter missed an attempted sweep.
Numbers
600 ODI fours; 10th fifty against the Lankans
Root consumed 90 balls for his 61 (4s: 5). With this knock, Root now owns 7,391 runs from 187 ODIs (176 innings) at 48.62. He slammed his 44th fifty in addition to owning 19 tons. As per ESPNcricinfo, Root now owns 600 ODI fours. Versus Sri Lanka, Root has raced to 1,239 runs from 30 matches at 61.95 (50s: 10, 100s: 2).
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An average of 49.3 on Asian soil
With this knock, Root has got to a tally of 1,627 ODI runs from 39 matches on Asian soil. He averages a solid 49.3. This was his 14th fifty in Asia (100s: 2). As many as 123 of his 600 fours have come in Asia.