Published 16:37 IST, February 28th 2021
Ian Chappell slams Eng's defensive approach in D/N Test, reveals how Kohli got it right
Ian Chappell slammed England's approach for their 10-wicket defeat against India in the D/N Test and at the same time, also mentioned where Kohli got it right
Former Australian cricketer Ian Chappell has criticised England after Indian skipper Virat Kohli had termed the recently-concluded pink-ball Test match in Narendra Modi Stadium, Ahmedabad as 'bizarre'.
Chappell was critical of the English team's poor tactics against the Indian spinners that eventually led to their collapse despite winning a crucial toss in the all-important contest.
Ian Chappell highlights where England got it all wrong
"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," Chappell wrote in his column for ESPNCricinfo.
Meanwhile, the cricketer-turned-commentator/analyst also gave a clarification on the hosts' decision to select three spinners for Day-Night Test. He mentioned that the scars from their humiliating 317-run defeat in the previous Test at Chepauk might have played in their minds heading into the Ahmedabad Test and at the same time, Ian Chappell also threw light on the English batsmen's inability to play spin well, barring Test skipper Joe Root.
"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," he added.
"When faced with a serious spin challenge, the England batsmen didn't trust their defence, which eventually resulted in panicked attempts to attack the Indian spinners. Their choice to reverse-sweep rather than to leave their crease to change the bowler's length is a classic example", he further added.
Pink-ball Test wrapped up in two days
Team India survived the demons on the pitch in their second innings on Day 2 with a comprehensive win in the third Test match to take a 2-1 lead in the four-match series.
Chasing a paltry total of 49, the Indian batsmen never looked uncomfortable as they made easy work of this small run chase as openers Rohit Sharma, and, Shubman Gill counter-attacked the English spinners with their aggressive batting display as the hosts comfortably got past the finish line by 10 wickets.
By the virtue of this win, India also registered their second victory in a Day-Night Test match. Prior to this contest, they had won their first pink-ball Test against Bangladesh at the iconic Eden Gardens, Kolkata in November 2019 and suffered an eight-wicket defeat at the hands of Australia at the Adelaide Oval in December 2020 where the Indian team also ended up registering their lowest-ever Test score of 36.
Updated 16:37 IST, February 28th 2021