'World ain't ready for his 15-ball 50' - Twitter thrilled as Joe Root makes his IPL debut against Sunrisers Hyderabad

The Indian Premier League 2023 continued its breathtaking T20 action on Sunday, May 7, as Rajasthan Royals and Sunrisers Hyderabad are all set to lock horns in Match 52 at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium, Jaipur. The RR captain, Sanju Samson, won the toss and elected to bat first at their home ground. Sharing the team news, ahead of the game, Samson mentioned that Star England batter Joe Root is making his IPL debut. 

Root was presented his cap ahead of the fixture by Rajasthan’s opening batter, Yashasvi Jaiswal. The 32-year-old has been brought into the side in place of Adam Zampa and was roped in by RR at the mini-auction held in December 2022 for INR 1 crore.

“Decided to bat first. Conditions also demand the same. Climate has been different. Not much dew in the latter half. And sometimes it suits us also. We would've wanted to play better standard of cricket. We've had hard and honest chats. Would like to come back stronger. Few injury issues in the team. Joe Root makes his debut,” said Samson at the toss.

The former England Test captain has played 88 T20 games and scored 2083 runs at an average of 32.54 and a strike rate of 126.70 with 13 half-centuries to his name. The star batter finished as the third-highest run scorer of the ICC T20 World Cup 2016, where he amassed 249 runs in six innings at an average of 49.80 and a strike rate of 146.47 scoring two fifties in the tournament.

Rajasthan need to turn things around with just four matches remaining

Meanwhile, Rajasthan will be eager to make a comeback having lost their previous two fixtures against Mumbai Indians and Gujarat Titans respectively. The Sanju Samson-led side started their campaign winning four out of the first five matches. However, they have been struggling in their last five games having won just four out of them. With just four matches remaining in the league stage, RR will be eager to win as many as possible and finish in the top two positions on the points table. Meanwhile, Twitter was abuzz with reactions to Joe Root's IPL debut.

Here's  how the fans reacted to Joe Root's much-awaited IPL debut:

Swapnil Tarsode@swapshah22

#IPL2023 It's a Intresting inclusion of Joe Root...Let's see how he will play in his first T20 match of IPL...Bcoz he is very good batter against spin....Masterclass batter(I can't say like Kohli Bcoz Kohli just have records now)

07:23 PM · May 07, 2023

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Vipin Tiwari@vipintiwari952

@Shubhamraj_1 @Mitch_Savage Joe Root as well.

Mr. Nick@Shubhamraj_1

@vipintiwari952 @Mitch_Savage Yess...Joe root ko bahoot pahle chance mil Jana chahiye tha.

07:23 PM · May 07, 2023

10

Royals Cricket@ImHimanshu_Raj

Good luck, Joe Root. For your IPL debut 💓

07:22 PM · May 07, 2023

20

Ankush@Eren_da_

Joe root finally made it to the IPL, I'm eager to see his cuts and scoops shot like he did in 2016 T20 WC against South Africa 😁.. #IPL2O23 #RRvsSRH #GTvsLSG #RCB #Kohli

07:22 PM · May 07, 2023

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Johns.@CricCrazyJohns

JOE ROOT MAKING HIS IPL DEBUT.

CIDO@saymyname_45

@CricCrazyJohns World in't ready For Joe Root 15 ball 50 masterclass

07:22 PM · May 07, 2023

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Ansul yadav@ADesignz06

Joe Root Making his Debut!! I am not Crying You are! #JoeRoot #RRvsSRH

07:22 PM · May 07, 2023

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Rajasthan Royals@rajasthanroyals

Hiiii

07:17 PM · May 07, 2023

58576

Hussnain Magsi@magsificent

Joe Root playing 😍😍😍

07:21 PM · May 07, 2023

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Rajasthan Royals@rajasthanroyals

Early predictions? 😋

𝑺𝑶𝑯𝑨𝑰𝑳'@pratikxlucifer

@rajasthanroyals Looks like RR is winning tonight 🙌 Joe root is great addition 🔥

06:59 PM · May 07, 2023

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Awais@Awaicc__17

Finally 🥳🥳 @JoeRoot66Fan @sophiesalterego @faria_chy66 @cric_insane @Fahadhasan55 twitter.com/mufaddal_vohra…

Mufaddal Vohra@mufaddal_vohra

Joe Root making his IPL debut.

Fahadhasan Mushfiqur@Fahadhasan55

@Awaicc__17 @JoeRoot66Fan @sophiesalterego @faria_chy66 @cric_insane Wake up babe, Joe Root plays Cricket today.

06:59 PM · May 07, 2023

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Ekansh Sharma@Ekansh_Sharma21

Finally RR management came to their right senses and Joe Root is making his IPL debut 🔥🔥 Root you deserve this 🙌❤

06:59 PM · May 07, 2023

30

Sreshth Shah@sreshthx

Really excited to see Joe Root finally bat tonight in the IPL. Not a fan of comparions but for ease of making the point, he is basically Williamson with a wider range of strokes. Jaipur the right kind of surface for Root to show his class.

06:59 PM · May 07, 2023

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