England skipper Joe Root admitted on Monday that his side could have managed the simmering and tense situations differently during the second Test against India last week.
“I think there were always conversations… in ways you can deal with different situations. We’ve done some good learning from the last game. I think we could have managed certain areas differently, [especially] me as the captain. We could have gone about things slightly differently,” said Root to media during a virtual interaction.
Root added they don’t want to follow India’s mannerisms and aggression on the field. India, under Virat Kohli, tend to get under the skin of the opposition.
Pace bowler Jasprit Bumrah tried to rattle James Anderson bowling bouncers at him towards the fag end of Day 3. England tried to match aggression on the next two days but lost the plot as they played into India’s hands and lost the Test.
The 30-year-old England captain said England will present their best version on the field in the third Test that begins at Headingley on Wednesday.
“We have got to be genuine to ourselves, genuine to how we are as individuals and how we are collectively and be as good as we can, the way that we go. Virat’s team will play how they play. I just want us to go out and be the best version of ourselves,” Root added.
“We have got three massive games to play in this series, there’s a lot to play for. And you know we’re desperate to bounce back strongly,” he added.
Root is England’s only successful batsman. He has scored two centuries in two Tests. He leads the overall run chart with 386 runs at an average of 128.66.
Despite his enormous success, England have failed to put Indian bowlers under pressure. Root called on England batsmen to build partnerships.
“The most important thing about batting in Test cricket revolves around big partnerships. When two guys bat for a period of time, the game can look completely different. And that has got to be our focus as a batting group. Starting your innings in England can be the hardest thing to do,” he added.