Southampton, Sept 3:
The hard-fought five-match series against India shows that Test cricket is still alive and kicking, said skipper Joe Root after England secured a 60-run win in the fourth rubber to take a series-clinching 3-1 lead.
“I think it’s a really good sign for Test cricket. It shows that for me Test cricket is still alive and kicking – very much at the pinnacle of the sport,” Root said.
“Credit to India – they’ve played some really fine cricket throughout, not just this game but the whole series. It must have been great viewing for people at home to see the way that especially the first game and this one, how tight they’ve been, how it swung both ways.”
Root said he was confident of a win with so many bowling options at his disposal as England’s potent attack dismissed world No 1 India for 273 and 184 in the two innings to secure the win.
“I felt like I had huge amounts of options and having points of difference in attack. In this game, having the ball spinning both ways, having a left-arm angle and three fantastic seam bowlers that all do very different things,” he said.
“I felt I always had, from a captain’s view, something different to turn to which on a surface like that a really important thing. Some might say overkill with options, but for me it felt like a really good balance against that team on that surface.”
The England skipper said his side was confident about the 245-run target.
“When I was batting on it, I thought 190 would have been a good score. But the fact we managed to get up and beyond 230-240 was a fantastic effort, and proved to be a really difficult chase,” Root said.
“I know there was a lot talked about that 275 being what looked to be a difficult chase, but I was fairly confident that if we bowled to our potential like we did today, then we’d have enough in the bank to get across the line.”(PTI)
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