LONDON: England captain Joe Root took responsibility for his side’s defeat by India in the second Test at Lord’s on Monday, saying he got his field placing and bowling approach tactically wrong.

India declared on 298-8 at the home of cricket after an unbroken ninth-wicket stand of 89 between tailenders Mohammed Shami and Jasprit Bumrah left the visitors in command, before England were bowled out for 120 and fell to a 151-run defeat.

Shami and Bumrah’s partnership was a ‘pivotal’ moment in the match, said Root, expressing his disappointment at England’s inability to restrict India’s second innings.

“I don’t think we dealt with that well enough tactically. It put us in a difficult position. A lot falls on my shoulders as captain. We went from a position where we could win to being behind,” Root said.

“We have to give them some credit. They scored in unusual areas and made it hard to set conventional fields and you were trying to manage taking wickets but not letting the game get away from us.

“I expected us to be able to bat out the last two sessions. There’s no hiding from it, we need do to get better. Everyone is hurting. It’s very raw right now. I feel the same as every single player in that dressing room: it’s a missed opportunity.”

Root, who was dismissed by Bumrah for 33 after posting an unbeaten 180 in the first innings, was hopeful his side would rediscover their batting form and said there was no need to press the panic button.

“When you talk about batting, it’s a collective. There have been plenty of occasions in my career when others have carried me through games,” he said.

“There’s a lot of cricket still to be played. A lot can happen within three games. It is not the time to panic.”

India captain Virat Kohli, meanwhile, promised there would no let-up from his side.

“We have three matches to go and we will be just as intense,” said Kohli, looking to lead India to just a fourth Test series win in England after successes in 1971, 1986 and 2007.

Reflecting on what was just India’s third win in 19 Tests at the ‘home of cricket’, Kohli said: “I feel super proud of the whole team. The pitch didn’t offer much in the first three days.

“The way we played this morning with Mohammed Shami and Jasprit Bumrah with the bat was important. We believed we could get them out in 60 overs and the bowlers were outstanding.”

England have now gone seven Tests without a win — a sequence that includes a campaign loss in India.

Batting collapses, however, have become an all-too common feature of England’s recent red-ball cricket outfit and there were four ducks on Monday, with Rory Burns and Dom Sibley the first England opening pair to both be out for ducks in a home Test innings.

“I don’t think there’s any hiding from it, we do need to get better,” said Root.

“We need to score heavier. But the guys all know that, they’re working extremely hard.”

The teams now head to Headingley, Root’s Yorkshire home ground, for a third Test starting on Aug 25, with the England skipper insisting: “There’s still a lot of cricket to be played in this series. More than anything we just need to stay calm and not try to panic and make sure we’re in a really good frame of mind when we turn up to Leeds.”

Published in Dawn, August 18th, 2021