Root takes the blame for horror show as England are humiliated
Captain admits he got tactics wrong to let India off the hook Batting collapses yet again as tourists claim improbable win
Joe Root shouldered full responsibility after India thumped his team by 151 runs on a remarkable final day of the second Test at Lord’s, when England’s tactics in the field were widely criticised.
The England captain said: “I think a lot has to come down on my side to be honest. I take responsibility.
Tactically I could have done things slightly differently this morning.
“We went from being in a very strong position, where we looked like we were going to win this game, to being behind, and making it very difficult for ourselves.
“I’ll do a lot of learning to make sure if we find ourselves in a similar position, tactically I’m better.”
The defeat leaves England 1-0 down with three games to go in the five-match series against a rampant India. They have not won any of their past seven Test matches – their longest winless streak since 2018. After collapsing for just 120, continuing the batting line-up’s dismal run, England appear certain to make changes for the third Test, which begins at Headingley a week tomorrow. Dom Sibley, who fell for a fourth-ball duck and is averaging only 14.25 this series, is likely to be dropped.
Haseeb Hameed, who made nought and nine on his comeback Test at No3, could revert to his customary position as opener, with Dawid Malan or Ollie Pope slotting in at three.
England began the final day in a seemingly dominant position, but lost their way during an unbroken 89-run partnership between Mohammed Shami and Jasprit Bumrah, India’s nine and 10.
Abandoning the customary plan of trying to get batsmen to edge the ball behind, England unsuccessfully
tried to bounce the pair out, and spread the field, allowing them to rotate the strike freely.
Root said he regretted the tactics England used on a disastrous final morning.
“Probably looking back at it, at the field placings and the way that we went about it, maybe we could have looked at attacking the stumps a little bit more frequently and using the short ball as more of a surprise,” he said.
“I just maybe would have taken a little bit more time and, probably, brought more modes of dismissal into the game.”
In England’s second innings, the over-dependence on Root’s batting was apparent yet again.
After entering at one for two, he made 33, top-scoring for the fourth consecutive innings in this series. He was the only member of the top five to reach double figures.
Besides Root, who has five centuries this year, Rory Burns is the only other England batsman to have even managed one.
“We have just got to keep being better at building those big partnerships. We did it well for periods in this game,” Root said.
“We just need to make it really count when we get something going. We need to make it last.”
Root insisted that England could fight back to win the series, mirroring what they did against India in 2014 when they went 1-0 down at Lord’s but won 3-1.
“As a side, we are used to playing long series, and we’ve found ourselves in this position before and come out on top.
“It’s really important that we stay very calm, look to learn lessons that we can put right and be better next time.”
Virat Kohli, India’s victorious captain, hailed his side’s all-round performance after their victory.
“The bowlers were just outstanding and what happened in our second innings, right at the end with the bowlers, the tension on the field really helped us and really motivated us to finish this game,” he said.
“We thought with 60 overs to go we could have a crack at the result, and we had the belief that we can get them out.”
Referring to a number of heated exchanges between rival players, India opener KL Rahul, who scored 129 in India’s first innings, said: “That’s what you expect with two competitive teams – great skills, and a few words as well.
“We don’t mind some banter. You go after one of our guys and all 11 of us will come right back.”