Chennai (Tamil Nadu) [India], February 16 (ANI): After suffering a humiliating defeat, England skipper Joe Root on Tuesday admitted that India outplayed them in all three departments.
India levelled the four-match Test series 1-1 against England after an emphatic 317-run win in the second Test here at the MA Chidambaram Stadium on Tuesday.
Indian bowlers produced a sublime performance on day four as England only managed to score 164 runs in their second innings. Axar Patel, who made his Test debut in the match, picked a five-wicket haul during England’s second innings while Ravichandran Ashwin and Kuldeep Yadav scalped three and two wickets respectively.
Analysing the game, Root also admitted that they “could’ve played that extra spinner”.
“Credit to India, they outplayed us in all three departments. It has been an education for us, you could come up with conditions like these and we have to learn from this and find a way to score runs. We need to learn to build pressure and bowl six balls at one batsman. On day one we could have been a bit tighter, squeeze the game a bit more and make it harder for them to score,” Root told host broadcaster Star Sports.
“From day two it was a very difficult wicket to bat on. But we have got to be smarter about how we’re building an innings. We are 1-1 and we are excited about the next two games given the way we played in the first game. We could’ve played that extra spinner, it is always easy to look at balancing a side at the end of the game. It will be different again when we turn up for the third game which will be a day-nighter, and very exciting last two games,” he added.
The highest partnership for England in the second innings was between Moeen Ali and Stuart Broad as the duo added 38 runs. Moeen was the highest run-getter in the second innings as he played a knock of 43 runs off just 18 balls. In the first innings, Ben Foakes was the highest run-getter for England, playing an unbeaten knock of 42 runs.
Reflecting on their performances, Root said: “Moeen got better with the ball as the game went on, and we know how destructive he can be with the bat. Ben Foakes batted really well in the first innings and his keeping has always been excellent. There are definitely things we can take from this week and it is just important that we stay level as a team. We performed last week and we have got to learn quickly.”
“There are a lot of players who haven’t played much cricket in this region and we have to learn quickly, which is something we have done well over the last few years. Ahmedabad will be very different, we have played only two pink ball games. It looks like a fantastic venue, really looking forward to that,” he added. (ANI)