England faced a mammoth 336-run defeat to India in the second Test of the series at Edgbaston last week, with their captain, Ben Stokes, igniting further criticism when he labelled the pitch in Birmingham as “subcontinental.” Stokes made the remark during the post-match presentation, which didn't sit well with many fans, who accused the English skipper of making an excuse for the loss.
“To be honest, it’s probably ended up being more of a subcontinent pitch as it got deeper and deeper into the game. There was certainly a little bit in it to start off with and I think we exposed that very very well early on,” Stokes had said.
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“Then just as it sort of got deeper and deeper, it just became a real tough slug for us and obviously with the Indian attack and the conditions that they’re used to, they were sort of used to and knew sort of how to expose those conditions just sort of a little bit better than us and that can happen sometimes. But yeah, it’s nothing to be too disheartened about. We can take being out-skilled and we’ve certainly been out-skilled this week,” said Stokes.
India's batting coach, Sitanshu Kotak, was asked about Stokes' remark in a press conference ahead of the third match of the series at the iconic Lord's stadium in London. Kotak, however, was clear in his stance. He maintained that the Indian bowlers utilised the conditions well, which allowed the side to register its historic first win at the venue.
Kotak's response to Stokes
{{/usCountry}}India's batting coach, Sitanshu Kotak, was asked about Stokes' remark in a press conference ahead of the third match of the series at the iconic Lord's stadium in London. Kotak, however, was clear in his stance. He maintained that the Indian bowlers utilised the conditions well, which allowed the side to register its historic first win at the venue.
Kotak's response to Stokes
{{/usCountry}}Kotak said that the ball at Edgbaston was moving even on Day 5 of the match – something one doesn't usually relate with a typical subcontinental surface.
“Personally, it didn't look like a subcontinental wicket to me. Whenever our bowlers bowled, the ball moved. Even in the second innings, the ball was moving even after 40 overs,” said Kotak.
“On the last day, maybe, the ball was turning a little. When you prepare such a hard wicket with grass, it won't create rough but it will have footmarks, which help with the turn. I think they tried to make a hard batting wicket.”
Ravindra Jadeja extracted sharp turn off the surface in the delayed first session of the final day, with Washington Sundar further dismissing captain Stokes in the last over before Lunch. The dismissal swung the tide in India's favour firmly, with the side wrapping up the game in the next session.