England skipper Joe Root, relatively calm and composed, said it is important to learn from the mistakes they committed in the third Test on a “similar looking pitch” for the final match.
India's Virat Kohli. Pic/AFP; (right) England captain Joe Root
India skipper Virat Kohli was not pleased that spinning pitches are being unfairly criticised. “There is always too much noise and too much conversation about spinning tracks. I am sure if our media is in the space to contradict those views or present views which say that it is unfair to criticise only spinning tracks, then I think it will be a balanced conversation,” a visibly upset Kohli said, citing examples of the two Tests last year in New Zealand. The first and second Test ended on Day Four and Day Three respectively.
“I am sure none of our people wrote about the pitch. It was all about how India played badly,” Kohli remarked. When asked whether it is fair to have Test matches end in two days, Kohli shot back: “I will ask you a question. Do you play a game to win or whether it should go on for five days or entertainment? I don’t have any answer to this, because we play to win. People should be happy of the fact that Team India wins, whether the match finishes in two, three, four or five days.”
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England skipper Joe Root, relatively calm and composed, said it is important to learn from the mistakes they committed in the third Test on a “similar looking pitch” for the final match. “It is important we harness that, have it in the front of our mind and be a bit braver actually; play with a little bit more freedom. That doesn’t mean going out there and trying to slog it, or be ultra-aggressive. We need to play our game a certain way but it is about not being scared of the conditions.
“I hate my players go out there, and look scared and nervous. They are all very good players. If they doubt themselves, they’re not giving themselves the best chance of scoring,” said Root.
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