Chappell calls out England's ineptitude against spin, hails India for using it 'correctly'

Former Australian captain Ian Chappell has said India correctly premediated English players' lack of skill against spin and used it to their advantage. Chappell said India's decision to pick three spinners for the third Test match was probably prompted by English players' poor performance against spin in the second game in Chennai. Chappell said India correctly calculated this and decided to play spinners in the third match, which played in their favour.

"Virat Kohli described the day-night third Test, in Ahmedabad, as "bizarre", a word that aptly describes the England batsmen's attempts to cope with India's spinners. India's decision to select three spinners for the Test was prompted by England's batting on a tricky Chennai pitch, where their batsmen - Joe Root excepted - displayed a distinct ineptitude against spin. India correctly calculated that would result in mental scarring and used it to their advantage," Chappell wrote. 

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Chappell said English players didn't trust their defence and panicked, which resulted in them taking unnecessary risks by trying to attack the Indian spinners. Chappell said English players chose to reverse-sweep rather than come down the crease and alter bowlers' length. The former Australian skipper further highlighted that England batsman Ollie Pope decided to make use of his feet, but the execution came out wrong. 

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"He had the right idea but the wrong execution. Firstly, he jumped rather than glided out of the crease. Secondly, his front foot pressed forward but the back one lingered as if searching for the safety of the crease," Chappell said as he pointed out Pope's fear of getting out by stumping, which made him constantly worry about missing a delivery, hence affecting his play. 

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Chappell's comment comes amid the ongoing controversy surrounding the Ahmedabad pitch, which has divided the cricketing world like never before. Critics of the pitch slammed curators for preparing an unplayable track, which according to them favoured spinners. However, many have since come out in defence of the pitch, lambasting critics for blaming the surface instead of assessing players' poor performances.

India vs England 3rd Test

India dominated England to win the third Test match by 10 wickets at the newly-constructed Narendra Modi Stadium. After England won the toss and elected to bat first, Indian spinners restricted visitors at just 112. In reply, India posted 145 runs on board with the help of opener Rohit Sharma's half-century. England came out to bat in the second innings and was bowled out for mere 81 runs. India needed 49 runs to win and went past the target with ease without losing a single wicket. Axar Patel was awarded the Man of Match trophy for taking fifer in both innings. 

England is out of the World Test Championship contention, giving India an opportunity to grab a place in the first-ever final against New Zealand. India will have to win or draw the fourth Test match in order to qualify for the final or third-placed Australia will play New Zealand at the Lords. 

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(With inputs from ANI)