"The ferocity of it took us by surprise a little bit" - Matthew Mott on India's attacking approach against England in T20 series
England's white-ball coach Matthew Mott has admitted that India's aggressive approach with the bat surprised the hosts in the recent three-game T20 series.
Mott, who succeeded Chris Silverwood in the role, also admired skipper Jos Buttler for handling the team well after the series defeat.
England sustained their third successive T20 series defeat to India as the tourists thrived across departments. The home side's poor batting performance in the first two games was the chief reason behind their loss, underpinned by Buttler's low scores.
India seal the series in Birmingham.
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Ahead of the first of the three ODIs on Tuesday, Mott said they learned plenty from their T20 series defeat and that India's gameplay took them aback.
He also lauded Buttler for keeping the team motivated after the loss and hopes their learnings will come in handy in the T20 World Cup.
"We learned a lot of lessons in the first two games. India obviously came out with a really attacking mindset and put us under pressure a lot. We expected that, but the ferocity of it took us by surprise a little bit. After the second loss and the series loss, I thought Buttler spoke exceptionally well in the group about these being the times where you learn about character," Mott said, as quoted by ESPN Cricinfo.
"It's easy when you're dominating teams but we're going to learn more about ourselves playing great teams like India and South Africa leading into a World Cup - we're going to learn more about what we need in Australia when we're put under pressure."
The hosts, who have played aggressively following their dismal 2015 World Cup campaign, struggled to cope with India's metronomic swing bowling in the first two T20Is.
India's targets of 199 and 171 proved too much for England, losing by 50 and 49 runs, respectively.
"I think there is plenty that we've taken out of this series already" - Matthew Mott
The 48-year old felt England's batting performance in the third T20I in Nottingham was perfect as they played fearlessly, adding:
"We talked about just being a bit braver. If anything, we could have been accused of being a bit timid with the bat. On Sunday, we just went out there and thought, 'it's a great wicket, let's put a score out there and hang on.' We don't like losing but I think there is plenty that we've taken out of this series already and it sets us up well for the summer."
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England sealed a consolation 17-run win in the third T20I, scoring 215 while batting first. Although Indian middle-order batter Suryakumar Yadav's century threatened to pull off an unlikely victory, England closed off the game.