England captain Joe Root led his team to a memorable win in the first Test against India in Chennai. Root struck 218 in the first innings after winning the toss and helped his team to a mammoth total of 578 in the first innings. But Root was criticised for defensive leadership on Day 4 when he decided to not enforce the follow-on and then chose not to declare the innings.
Former Australia cricketer Ian Chappell believes Root should have taken advantage of England's superiority at the time.
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"Despite having a brilliant all-round game in the first Test, Root failed to take full advantage of England's superiority at a critical time in the game. Instead of oscillating between all-out attack and inexplicable defence in the late stages of their second innings, England should have pushed on aggressively in order to declare and set a target," Chappell wrote in his column on ESPNCricinfo.
"This (declaration) would have sent a strong message to India: we are not worried by your much-vaunted batting line-up," he added.
"If Root had declared instead of being bowled out, it could have provided him with a valuable psychological advantage later in the series. In sending a message of confidence it could easily have had an effect on a decision Virat Kohli has to make later in the series," he further wrote.
{{/usCountry}}"If Root had declared instead of being bowled out, it could have provided him with a valuable psychological advantage later in the series. In sending a message of confidence it could easily have had an effect on a decision Virat Kohli has to make later in the series," he further wrote.
{{/usCountry}}Chappell further said that there is one aspect of area that Root needs to improve - art of perception and psychology.
"One aspect of captaincy where Root can improve even further is in the art of perception and psychology - two crucial aspects of Test match captaincy," he wrote.
England won the first Test by 227 runs taking a lead of 1-0 in the three-match Test series. In the 2nd Test, Root lost the toss and India took advantage of Day 1 surface, posting 329 on the board in the first innings. England found themselves at 106/8 at Tea on Day 2.