"All McCullum has done is break Joe Root" - Fans slam star batter for horrendous shot on Day 4 of second IND-ENG Test

England's premier batter Joe Root played a horrendous shot at a critical stage of the game to be dismissed for 16 on Day 4 of the second Test against India.

The 33-year-old spent most of Day 3 off the field due to a finger injury sustained in the eighth over of the morning. Although cleared to bat in England's second innings, Root was in a hurry from the word go.

After a reverse swept boundary off his first delivery, the stylish batter got lucky with a similar attempt two balls later. Yet, Root continued batting aggressively despite the game situation and eventually perished in an attempt for a maximum on the leg side.

His ungainly slog off Ravichandran Ashwin found Axar Patel at backward point, leading to England slipping to 154/4 in their run-chase of 399.

The champion batter has struggled throughout the series to balance attack and defense, scoring only 52 runs in four innings at an average of 13. Despite crossing the 1000-run mark in Tests in India during his brief stay, Root's dismissal sunk England further in their already improbable chase.

Fans on Twitter condemned England's Bazball approach for having a detrimental effect on Root's batting lately and blasted the batter for playing a horrendous shot at that stage of the contest.

Here are some of the best reactions:

India are on course to level the Test series against England

India v England - 2nd Test Match: Day Four

Team India edged ahead of England in an intriguing morning session on Day 4 of the second Test in Visakhapatnam.

With a mammoth target of 399, the visitors started the day at 67/1 to try and pull off the highest-successful chase in Tests in India.

However, after a rapid start by Zak Crawley and Rehan Ahmed, the latter fell plumb in front against Axar Patel for 23. Undeterred, the first Test hero, Ollie Pope, started ablaze with a series of boundaries against the spinners.

But he was caught brilliantly by Indian skipper Rohit Sharma at first slip to perish for 23 off the bowling of Ashwin. The champion off-spinner then deceived Root to dent England further and reignite India's hopes of a convincing win.

Meanwhile, opening batter Zak Crawley scored his second half-century of the Test match, holding the key to England's hopes. He is currently batting on 72, with Jonny Bairstow giving him company on 25.

The duo have taken England to 192/4 in 41 overs, needing another 207 runs to create a world-record chase in India.