IND vs ENG 2021: “Weather robbed us an entertaining Day 5” – Joe Root
Joe Root believes even 40 overs on the final day of the India-England Trent Bridge Test could have produced an exciting finish. The England captain, who believes his side were in with a chance, expressed his disappointment at the weather having the final say as Day 5 was called off and the Test declared a draw.
At stumps on Day 4, India were 52 for one, needing another 157 runs to go one up in the series. Joe Root lamented that England’s poor catching efforts gave India an edge.
“It was a great Test match. The weather’s robbed us of what would have been an entertaining final day. Even 40 overs could have given us something exciting. We certainly believed we could win. Hopefully, we can take some of the good stuff we’ve done this week into the rest of the series," said Joe Root.
“We knew we would have opportunities if we took our catches and kept our fields. It’s a shame it ended this way. There are certain areas where we want to get better. We want to get better at the top of the order and take our catches,” the England skipper said in the post-match presentation ceremony.
I enjoyed my batting: England skipper Joe Root after century
Joe Root’s batting kept England in the Test. Scoring a fine 64 in England’s total of 183 in the first innings, the 30-year-old slammed his 21st Test hundred (109) in the second innings to help the side gain a lead. He also became the first batter to cross 1000 Test runs in the calendar year.
The Yorkshire star was awarded the Player of the Match for his efforts with the bat. He scored nearly 36% of England’s runs in the Test. The hundred was Joe Root’s first three-figure score at home since 2018. The last time he scored a hundred in England was against India at The Oval in 2018, which was Alastair Cook’s farewell Test.
Drawing satisfaction from his batting efforts against an excellent Indian pace attack, Joe Root added:
“To finally get to my century was a relief given how I played throughout the day. I think India have a very good seam attack, and credit to them for the way they bowled. They tested our defences for long periods, and I just wanted to put the pressure back on them with a few shots. Certainly feel full of confidence on the back of that.”
The next Test between India and England starts on August 12 at Lord’s, London.