England skipper Joe Root denied ill feelings between India and England players after a few fierce moments in the second Test at Lord's. The Test match got heated up after Jasprit Bumrah bowled an over full of bouncers to England's number 11 batsman James Anderson in the first innings.
Anderson wasn't pleased with the bowling and he was seen having a chat with Indians after the end of Day 3. England players tried to rattle Bumrah when he came out to bat on Day 5, however, they didn't succeed as he stitched up an 89* runs partnership with Mohammad Shami.
India captain Virat Kohli was not happy with the exchange of words between England players and Bumrah in their second innings. He was seen furious at the Lord's balcony watching all the drama.
Kohli was fired up when India came out to defend 272 runs in the last two sessions. Team India gave it back to the English players on their run chase and also won the match by 151 runs.
"Virat’s got his style and his way of doing things that’s probably contrasting naturally to the way I play my cricket. Fair play to Virat and his team, they’ve jumped on something emotional that’s given them an edge and something to cling on to tactically," Root told reporters after their loss at Lord's.
"India as a side grabbed onto something and used that to their advantage on this occasion. As far as I'm concerned, I don't think there is any nastiness or hatred there between anyone out there on the field."
England are now behind in the five-match Test series after losing the second Test. Root admitted he was not on point with his captaincy which cost England the Test match.
Shami and Bumrah's partnership for the ninth wicket turned the game in India's favor. England failed to get them out and India had to declare their innings on 298/8 after the first session. Bumrah scored 34* runs, while Shami smashed an unbeaten half-century.
"Looking back, I'd look at some of the field placings and the way we bowled. We could have looked at maybe attacking the stumps a little bit more frequently and using the short ball as more of a surprise," he said.
"We have to give them some credit. They scored in unusual areas and made it hard to set conventional fields and you were trying to manage taking wickets but not letting the game get away from us.
"But I would have taken a little bit more time and probably brought more modes of dismissal into the game sooner."
England were bowled out for 120 runs and only Root and Jos Buttler could score more than 20 runs. The hosts struggled to survive against the Indian pace bowling unit who put on an extraordinary bowling effort.
"I expected us to bat out so it's disappointing we didn't manage to. We need to score heavier. The guys will know that. Credit to India but I don't think there is any hiding from the fact we need to get better."
(With India Today inputs)
