On Tuesday, at the MA Chidambaram stadium in Chennai, England’s captain Joe Root said that they are still a lot of alive in the arrangement as he anticipates the third Test against India. India levelled the four-coordinate Test arrangement 1-1 against England after a determined 317-run win in the second Test.
India bowlers delivered a wonderful execution on day as England just figured out how to score 164 runs in their subsequent innings.
Root said in the post-match press conference, “One thing our batters need to learn is the manner by which well they (India) figured out how to turn strikes. We are looking at the areas that we can develop. We are looking forward as a group and we will not get too hard on ourselves after this week. We are particularly in the series and we played three splendid games coming into this game. In this way, as long as we stay level and continue to buckle down, we are a lot of alive in the series.
When asked about the pitch, Root said, “It was a challenging wicket and I do think that the toss was an important one to win but it would not have guaranteed the win. The fact is that India have shown that you can score runs on that. So, we have got to learn from that.”
On Tuesday, All-rounder Moeen Ali, who played very well in the second Test, will return home for a break as England named a 17-strong squad for the third Test against India.
Mark Wood ad Jonny Bairstow will join the squad having been rested for the first two Test.
Root said they “completely respect” Moeen’s decision to return back to home. “From the squad, I think Moeen is the just one returning home. With Moeen, it wasn’t tied in with inquiring as to whether he needed to remain, it was a choice that he picked. Obviously, we need whatever number players to remain accessible in so for as could reasonably be expected, yet we likewise need them to be agreeable here. For Moeen, he needs to be at home with his family and we totally regard and get that,” he said.
Root added, “It’s been very difficult tour for him, having to deal with COVID and being in his space for such extensive stretches of time. You go to a point where you need to escape the air pocket and that is totally reasonable. I am certain it was certifiably not a simple choice for him, yet it’s one that we regard.”