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‘That’s what we’ll be aiming to do’: Joe Root reveals England’s game plan against India
Ahead of the first Test, the England captain spoke about how his team prepares to face a side which has recently defeated Australia in their own backyard and retained the Border-Gavaskar Trophy.
Eight years after making his Test debut, Joe Root is set to play the 100th match in whites for his country. Under his leadership, the English side will square off against India in the opening game of the 4-match Test series in Chennai on Friday.
Ahead of the first Test, the England captain spoke about how his team prepares to face a side which has recently defeated Australia in their own backyard and retained the Border-Gavaskar Trophy.
In a conversation with The Hindu, Root mentioned that patience is the key to bat on Indian tracks. He stated that the England batsmen need to stay at the crease for ‘longer periods’ so as to take ‘every Test deep’ against a formidable side like India.
“You’ve got to be prepared to bat for long periods. When you get in, especially in the first innings, you've got to really make it count. That’s what we’ll be aiming to do. Hopefully, we can stay in the game for as long as possible and take every Test deep against a quality side,” Root told The Hindu.
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Root further pointed out that while batting in India, it’s really essential for a batsman to trust his defence and should have the clarity of when and where he needs to score boundaries.
“You've got to be patient, especially as an English player when you are used to playing mainly against seam. You've got to be accepting [of the fact that] the ball will turn and pass the bat. You're allowed to get it wrong on occasions, but you've got to stay calm and be quite clear about where you're going to score your runs. I think it's really important to be able to trust your defence and also have clarity of where you want to score your boundaries,” he added.
Earlier on Monday, the players of Indian and England returned three negative tests for COVID-19 during their six-day quarantine, clearing the way for their first full-strength net sessions three days before the opening Test here on Friday.
“The Indian Cricket Team completed their quarantine period today in Chennai. Three RT-PCR tests for Covid-19 were conducted at regular intervals and all tests have returned negative results. The team will have their first outdoor session today from 5:00 PM and nets sessions will begin from tomorrow,” read an update from BCCI.
