Follow UsIndia lost their last seven wickets for a mere 92 runs before England took control of the game with their new-found aggressive manner, to ensure that a series draw has come right on the cards. India had a 132-run lead in the first innings, putting them at a strong pedestal, but the inability to capitalize in the second innings has ceded control of the match. Vikram Rathour, India’s batting coach, admitted the same and stated that their batters should have employed a slightly different strategy against the English pacers.
"The plans didn't work out," Rathour said in the press conference. "I'll agree that we had a pretty ordinary day as far as batting is concerned. We were ahead in the game. We were in a position where we really could've batted them out of the game. Unfortunately, it didn't happen. A lot of people got starts but really couldn't convert. We were expecting one of them to play a big knock and have a big partnership but unfortunately, it didn't happen like that."
"Yes, they used a short-ball plan against us in the field. We had to show a little better, not intent, but strategy. We could've handled it slightly differently. People tried to play shots but didn't really convert or execute them well enough. They got out to that. We will have to rethink how we handle that next time in a similar situation, against similar bowlers who keep similar fields. We will need to have a better strategy against them."
This was not the first time that India had been batted out of the game by the opposition’s short ball tactic. In Cape Town earlier this year, India were found out by the South African bowlers, losing the Test by seven wickets despite having a first-innings lead in the Test.
"Of course, at this level, you expect people to bowling short against us, and especially against the Indian team, people have been using the short ball for quite some time," Rathour said.
"People have their own ways of dealing with that. As a batsman, you have your own way to deal with that. We don't really say you have to do this or do that. As a batter, you need to decide, according to your game, what suits you in that situation and in those conditions. Unfortunately, today we couldn't really execute whatever plans we had. Today was the day we were ahead. We should have actually batted better and put them out of the game with our batting. But unfortunately, we didn't do that."
However, Rathour still feels that the game can still be in India’s grasp if their bowlers manage to eke out a couple of wickets in the morning session. "Two wickets in the morning early and again the game will open up," the Indian batting coach said. "We know that we understand the game, it is a big target still. It's still more than 100 runs. We take two wickets early and the game can still open up. The kind of bowling Shami and Bumrah are doing, it's not beyond them that they get one wicket, then one, two, three can fall. And that can bring us back in the game."