Joe Root rues tactical faults, poor batting display after loss to India at Lords

England skipper Joe Root bore a dejected look after a crushing defeat against India at Lords on Monday. The match was the second of the five-match Test series that is being played between the two countries. India scripted a historical victory after bowling the Three Lions out for just 120. They won the match by a whopping margin of 151 runs. Root was the one who publicly claimed responsibility for a few tactical errors. He said that the match could have gone differently had he managed a few things better. England seemed to be on top at one point in the match but a brilliant performance by the Indian lower order and an England batting collapse saw Virat Kohli’s men bag a historic victory.

“Tactically I got a few things wrong, and a lot falls on my shoulders,” Root told BBC Test Match Special.

“The game could have looked very different if I had managed things slightly differently, and I will learn from that experience,” the England skipper added.

India were 209-8 at one point but a mammoth partnership between Mohammad Shami and Jasprit Bumrah saw them reach a score of 298 and set England a total of 272. Shami scored 56 runs while Bumrah made 34.

Tactical errors haunt Joe Root

It was rather peculiar, Root’s tactics, during India’s second innings. When there were only two wickets to go, Root spread out his fielders and the England bowlers rarely attacked the stumps.

It was one of the few tactical errors the English skipper made during the game.

“Looking back, some of the field placings and the way we bowled at them. We could have attacked the stumps more frequently,” said Root.

“I would have maybe taken more time and brought more methods of dismissal into the game sooner,” the England skipper added.

BATTING COLLAPSE

The dismal batting performance from England was out in the open for everyone to see. They were 1-2 at the beginning of the innings and then fell to 67-5 at one stage.

The skipper did not make any attempt to defend the abysmal performance. He said that he at least expected his batters to see through the day and earn a draw.

“I expected us to bat through,” said Root. “There isn’t any hiding from it. We need to get better. We need to score heavier. The guys all know that. They are working extremely hard,” he added.

The third Test match will be held at Leeds and Root said that his team had to remain calm and maintain their composure if they wanted to get a positive result from the game.

“We need to stay calm,” said Root. “It’s not time to panic. We need to make sure we’re in a really good frame of mind when we turn up to Leeds,” he added.

Individually, Joe Root himself has had a very good series so far. He has made an incredible 386 runs in the two Test matches.

However, he said that batting was a collective effort and there have been several occasions in the past when his teammates had carried him.

“Batting is a collective. There have been plenty of occasions in my career when others have carried me through games.

“We’ve got time now before the next Test. We’ll need to make sure that we’re ready to play what is still a lot of cricket in this series,” he added.