"I thought the umpires were outstanding"- Joe Root
After their humbling defeat to India in the third Test, Joe Root praised the Indian umpires, saying they were "outstanding".
The England skipper had a few animated discussions with on-field umpires on day 1 of the Ahmedabad Test. Joe Root also showed his frustration yesterday after the third-umpire adjudged Shubman Gill not out when the latter edged the ball to second slip.
Ben Stokes claimed the controversial catch, but the TV umpire ruled it in favor of the Indian opener.
However, Root clarified that he didn't have any issue with the umpires. He said in the post-match press conference:
"I have got no problem with the umpires on the field. I thought they were outstanding. Actually, when it's challenging for the batters, it's definitely challenging for the umpires. I thought they both had a very good game to be fair."
Speaking about yesterday's incident, Root said he was unhappy about the decision-making process as the third umpire didn't check all the possible angles.
"It's more frustration at the process. It's not frustration towards the individual at all. Its the fact that we want the process to be consistent. It's for both teams; you want every individual to get the opportunity where they look at more than one camera angle," Root said.
With India winning the third Test by 10 wickets, England are out of the running from booking their place in the final of the ICC World Test Championship. However, if the visitors manage to win the final Test of the series, Australia will go through and India will miss out.
"We explained our frustration"- Joe Root
The England skipper divulged that he had a chat with match referee Javagal Srinath after yesterday's play.
"We had a good conversation with Javagal at the end of the day's play; we explained our frustration and things we wanted to get off our chest.
"Through that, we felt like we came to a very good understanding and felt like we dealt with it really well. They took on board what we had to say, and hopefully, that improves things moving forward," Root added.
With the third Test match finishing within 2 days, it remains to be seen what kind of conditions will be on offer for the final Test, which will be played at the same venue. The fourth Test starts on 4th March.