ENG vs IND 2018: We'll have to give credit to India they outplayed us, says Joe Root

Arriving 2-0 up into this game, England leave it with a lot of questions to answer.

Joe Root thinks England has a lot to improve upon. (Getty)

Having seen his side being largely outplayed by the visitors at Trent Bridge, England Captain Joe Root has said that while there are number of areas for his team to work on from here, full credit must be given to Virat Kohli led Indian side for putting up a dominating performance in all departments of the game. 

Despite arriving into the game having won the closely contested encounter at Edgbaston and then giving the opposition an absolute hammering at Lord's, England looked clueless once India started excelling with the bat and in the field and the home eventually paid big, losing the game by a margin of 203 runs on Day 5. 

Root taking at the post-match presentation said, "I don't think there are any regrets for me, as far the team selection goes. It's a strong team that we have if you look at the card. It was always going to be a difficult decision because the guys to miss out did extremely well in the series till now"

"Looking at the toss, there was some light grass on the wicket and it was a good opportunity to get ahead in the game. That didn't happen. That's nitpicking, if I say we should have bowled fuller and straighter, so we just have to give the credit to India." he added. 

Praising India for their respect-worthy effort with the bat in tough conditions at Trent Bridge, Root expressed, "They left very well, and it was hard for the seamers to get wickets early on, so credit to India. We very much underperformed in the first innings. In the 2nd innings, the partnership between Buttler and Stokes was admirable and a lesson in how to play Test cricket."

"It's not about being defensive, but how well they adapted to the situation and built the partnership. We have to look at that, and adapt our games individually in Southampton and give ourselves a good chance to score 400+ so we can put some scoreboard pressure."

The English bowling attack which made Virat look short of answers on the last trip, seems to have no real idea on how to get him out this time. 

When asked about why the home side hasn't been able to get past him early so far, Root said, "You're always looking to find a way to get people out like Virat Kohli and it's not like he has got quick runs against us so we have bowled well, but he's got a way to adapt to these conditions and he's found a good method to play in these conditions. We have experienced bowlers, who can work him out."

Root is quite disappointed about the poor slip-catching, that has been a long-standing problem for his side and also cost them in this game. He said, "We need to give our bowlers a good chance in the slips (about the 12 catches dropped), but we are working hard on our catches and we will continue to do so, and that will make a massive difference and give us a chance to win the game."

(Inputs from Cricbuzz)

 
 

By Kashish Chadha - 22 Aug, 2018

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