Chokli
First Class Captain
- Joined
- Aug 6, 2018
- Runs
- 5,468
source: https://twitter.com/ICC/status/1028513991876694016
This makes no sense. The toss happened on Day 2. India still had authority to change the XI.
Making excuses over failures are going to hurt the fans even more.
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Hardik Pandya, the India all-rounder, said the vastly different conditions India and England batted was as the reason the visitors conceded a big lead on the third day of the second Test at Lord's.
India dominated the first session of day, reducing England to 89/4 and then 131/5, but Chris Woakes (120*) and Jonny Bairstow (93) took it away from the visitors, putting on a 189-run stand to help England head into stumps with a lead of 250.
Pandya, who took the wickets of Ollie Pope and Bairstow, and denied the latter a sixth Test hundred, said India's bowlers tried their best but struggled once the ball stopped swinging.
India dominated the first session by reducing England to 89/4 at lunch
"As a bowling unit, we tried everything and all of a sudden the ball stopped swinging," he said. "Then Woakes and Bairstow took the game away. But it happens. I've seen in Test matches where you get five wickets quickly or four wickets quickly and then you get that one partnership. With our batting line-up also we’ve done it many times. It’s just a part of the game."
On the second day, India were bundled out for 107 in just 35.2 overs. The fact that England could fight back with 357/6 reflected how vastly the conditions had changed, Pandya said.
"(Yesterday) any team would have got the same score that we had got because playing in those conditions, where a little drizzle was there, the wicket was little bit wet ... the conditions were completely different," he said.
"And when we bowled today, it was in proper sunlight. Obviously, we knew that today was the wicket that we actually expected from the first day. Because of the weather yesterday, the wicket changed quite a bit and it was doing a lot. That's the only difference."
The conditions seemingly assisted the seamers, but Pandya said the changing conditions justified India's decision to play two spinners instead of an extra paceman.
Chris Woakes brought up his maiden Test ton, scoring 120* off 159
"I think three (pace bowlers) were enough, to be honest. We did enough, we bowled properly. We knew about whatever effort we had to put. And as I told you, today's wicket was the wicket which we expected and it was a proper call.
"If it had been a five-day game, spinners would have come into play. But because of the rain and everything, the game has been shortened and there are not many foot-marks. So it was not gripping much. But yes, if it was a five-day game, things would have been different."
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playing 11. lets just accept and move on that Indias team selection has been both baffling and appalling on away tours and the blame of that lies solely on kohli and Shastri..
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