England all-rounder Moeen Ali has said that the dropped catches by Indian players played a major role in helping the visitors post a mammoth total of 537 runs in the first innings of the Rajkot Test. Indian fielders dropped five catches that have helped the visitors to gain an upper hand in the series opener. England skipper Alastair Cook was dropped twice while his opening partner Haseeb Hameed was also given a reprieve. The story continued on the second day too as Wriddhiman Saha dropped Ben Stokes twice. While Cook and Hameed failed to take advantage of the chance, Ben Stokes punished the hosts as he scored 128 to take England to a commanding position.
Speaking to media after the end of day’s play, Ali said:“We have done that before a few times also. It can happen in cricket. But it set the tone for the rest of the day. We had a decent start at the end and it could have been lot different if those catches were taken. But these things happen and I am sure the guys will be working very on that.”
Speaking on the nature of the pitch which is assisting the spinners more now, Ali said:“The bounce, I think is going to get a little bit lower. The cracks are opening up a little bit. There was also a bit more spin as you saw tonight. It’s a very good pitch, yesterday and today was very nice. I think the bounce will be a problem.”
There were speculations all around that English batsmen would find it tough to counter the Indian spinners after their dismal performance in Bangladesh. However, they faced the Indian spinners with utmost confidence and Ali said that although the Rajkot pitch is not a rank turner, his team is satisfied with the batting performance so far.
“There was no spin yesterday and today only towards the end there was a bit of spin. The good thing is we made them bowl a lot of overs. I think we are pleased with the way we played spin. I know there wasn’t much spin but we didn’t just prod around. We used our feet, went back and forth and took the attacking option. I think the wickets are going to get tougher through the series,” he said.
When asked to compare the Rajkot pitch with that of Bangladesh, Ali said:“The wickets are completely different. Bangladesh wickets were very tough and this wicket, compared to those wickets, was an absolute belter. The pitches are going to get tougher here and we know that.”