With two successive victories against India, England looked certain of repeating similar heroics at Trent Bridge. Joe Root’s decision of sending in visitors to bat first may well be debatable. But it is the major collapse courtesy Hardik Pandya’s brilliance, that turned the table in India’s favour.
Joe Root said they need to give credit to India for outplaying them in the third Test match at Trent Bridge.
It was a difficult decision to make, Joe Root on team selection.
In reply to India’s 329 in the first innings, the hosts found themselves at 54/0 at lunch. But the side went on to lose all of their ten wickets in just one session and ended up being bowled out for 161 in 38.2 overs. Pandya ended his spell with figures of 5/28 as India took a mighty lead of 168 runs.
Joe Root said while talking in the post-match presentation, “I don’t think there are any regrets. It’s a strong team that we have. It was always going to be a difficult decision and 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, so we just have to give the credit to India. We 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. We have to look at that and adapt our games individually in Southampton”.
India was able to tick the right boxes.
A masterful hundred by Kohli and some ordinary catching by the Englishmen further shifted advantage towards the Indians. Spinner Abdul Rashid claimed three wickets while Cheteshwar Pujara marked his return to form with a steady 72.
Root went on add, “You’re always looking to find a way to get people out (on Virat), and it’s not like he has got quick runs against us, but he’s got a way to adapt to these conditions. We have experienced bowlers, who can work him out. We need to give our bowlers a good chance in the slips (about the 12 catches dropped). It’s early days for the Bairstow injury, and over the next few days, we will have a better idea about the swelling. It would be great if he manages to recover – you want guys like that in your side. It has been challenging in the top-order in this series, and these conditions, so it’s difficult to rule the openers out”.
Chasing a daunting 521 runs to win, England lost their first wicket in the 10th over and lost the next one within a span of two overs. Jos Buttler’s ton and Ben Stokes’ 62 took England to a respectable total but a quick flurry of wickets towards the end of the day meant India were just around sniffing a famous win.