After losing the Lord’s Test by 151 runs, England made a terrific comeback at Headingley and defeated India by an innings and 76 runs to level the series 1-1. After a delightful win on Sunday, head coach Chris Silverwood said that he and skipper Joe Root have learned an important lesson from 2nd Test loss and implemented the desired changes in the next game.
England dominated India comprehensively at Headingley. The visitors showed some grit on the third day but the home team had the upper hand on most of the occasions. During a virtual media interaction, coach Silverwood said the major takeaway from the defeat at Lord’s was being aggressive in a controlled manner.
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“He (Root) reflected on the Lord's Test and some of the decisions he made. He does learn as he goes along and that's a great characteristic for a captain to have: to reflect back honestly and make a difference. And he's certainly made a difference this game,” he added.
“Joe and I reflected on the Lord's Test and thought about what we could learn and how we could get better. And I think there was a controlled aggression around what they did [at Headingley]: the way they hit the lengths hard, the way they put the India tail under pressure and forced them to make decisions all the time. I think you can be aggressive in a very controlled way and I think they got that right,” he added.
{{/usCountry}}“Joe and I reflected on the Lord's Test and thought about what we could learn and how we could get better. And I think there was a controlled aggression around what they did [at Headingley]: the way they hit the lengths hard, the way they put the India tail under pressure and forced them to make decisions all the time. I think you can be aggressive in a very controlled way and I think they got that right,” he added.
{{/usCountry}}Victory at Headingley made Root the most successful captain of England in Test cricket. He now has 27 wins under his belt, surpassing Michael Vaughan. Silverwood hailed Root’s leadership, stating that the latter has the potential to be one of the great England captains.
“Seeing him become England's most successful captain was superb. It's something I've been looking forward to for a while. He's in a great place at the moment and I'm really enjoying watching him.
“I think he's a good Test captain. I think he is growing and learning all the time. We saw that last week. I think there’s potential there for him to be one of the great England captains. He's got the potential to be. If we win in Australia, we can have this conversation again,” Silverwood said.