"It's the mind that got them out"- Farokh Engineer on England's batting performance
Former India international Farokh Engineer believes England lost the third Test match in Ahmedabad because of the uncertainty in their batsmen's minds. Engineer pointed out that most of the English batsmen were dismissed by straight deliveries as the visitors were expecting excessive spin after seeing a few balls turn.
Team England were bowled out for 81 in the second innings, their lowest score ever in Indian conditions, which set up a 10-wicket win for the hosts. Speaking to Indranil Basu on SK Live, Farokh Engineer weighed in on England's batting performance and said:
"It's the mind that got them out. They see when one or two ball starts turning, then panic starts. In Chennai, the ball was coming slow, the English batsman decided to play off the back foot, but in Ahmedabad, the ball was coming just a little bit quicker; as a result, they got caught on the back foot and were out lbw and bowled through the gate. It was rank bad batting by England. I think they will be the first to hold their hand up."
The former wicketkeeper also added that after winning the toss, England should have done a lot better.
"In the first inning to be out just over 100 after winning the toss. If India would have won the toss and put England in, then they would have blamed us. They should have got a much better total after winning the toss; it was their fault," added Engineer.
With this defeat, England are also out of contention for a place in the ICC World Test Championship (WTC) final. Team India need to avoid a defeat in the final Test against England to seal their place in the WTC final against New Zealand.
"Joe Root is an underestimated bowler"- Farokh Engineer
Farokh Engineer went on to praise Joe Root for his bowling abilities. The England skipper finished with astonishing figures of 5-8 in the first innings which gave the visitors hope of a comeback.
"Joe Root is a very underestimated bowler. He bowled very well; he bowled quick and took advantage of the turn. Again, it's not the turn that got the batsman out," said the 83-year-old.
After the defeat in Ahmedabad, Joe Root indicated the visitors got their selection wrong as they went in with only one specialist spinner. It remains to be seen what kind of surface will be on offer for the final Test, which will be played at the same venue.