England had another dominating outing against India in the ongoing Chennai Test as they piled up a mammoth 555/8 in their first innings by stumps on Day 2.
Skipper Joe Root was the star for the visitors, scoring 218 in his 100th Test. All-rounder Ben Stokes (82) and opener Dom Sibley (87) also made significant contributions with the bat.
Speaking after the second day’s play, India spinner Shahbaz Nadeem admitted that Stokes’ counter-attack forced him to change his plans.
The left-arm tweaker is willing to go back to the nets to sort the technical issues that have crept into his bowling. Featuring in his second Test, Nadeem conceded 167 runs in 44 overs but as a consolation dismissed Stokes and Root.
"I was trying to bowl into the rough outside the off-stump but he counter-attacked by playing the reverse sweep. Yeah it did (force me) to change my line and length a little bit," said Nadeem during a virtual press conference.
"I then tried to bowl on the wicket and got him out."
One of the main reasons was the six no-balls that he bowled so far, and Nadeem acknowledged that he is having some technical problems.
"I think I was jumping late (on load up) on to the crease whereas I should time my jump a bit early. So that created a bit of problem. On the first day, it was more of a problem and today it was comparatively less. I need to go back and work in the nets to sort the problem," said the 31-year-old veteran of 117 first-class games.
Nadeem also praised Root’s game against spin bowling, saying the execution of his sweep shots made it difficult to set a specific plan for the England captain.
"Root is a great batsman and has been in great form of late. He is sweeping very well and you need to plan well, whether you want to bowl on stumps or outside the off stump."
"Obviously, you will have problems when a batsman starts sweeping you but then you need to stick to your plans. Wait for your time so that he makes a mistake."
According to Nadeem, the pitch is still pretty good to bat on and only left-handers could face some difficulties with the rough outside their off-stump.
"There is one rough that could cause problems for left-handers but otherwise the centre of the strip and other areas remain intact. The pitch is still very good for batting, so I am sure our batsmen will score huge total and you will see that," he remarked.
(With PTI inputs)
