Nasser Hussain ROASTS Joe Root, wants England to stop using pitch as excuse for loss

Virat Kohli & co. defeated England by 10 wickets on the back of some superlative bowling performances from R Ashwin and Axar Patel. The latter of the two even won the ‘Player of the Match’ award for his 11-wicket match haul. The pitch used at the Narendra Modi Stadium for the pink-ball contest turned out to be a spin-friendly one, with spinners from both sides picking up 28 out of the 30 wickets to fall on both days of the Test match.

India vs England 3rd Test: Axar Patel takes 5-32 in England’s second innings — watch video

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India vs England 3rd Test: Nasser Hussain slams Joe Root-led English side for batting failures

Former England captain Nasser Hussain has criticised England’s batting approach across the two days of the recently-concluded pink-ball Test match at Ahmedabad. In his column for the Daily Mail, the cricketer-turned-commentator wrote that he does not believe the pitch used at Ahmedabad provided a “fair contest between bat and ball”. However, he also added that he does not mind seeing an occasional short Test match as it is “not bad for cricket”.

Nasser Hussain further stated that Joe Root & co. cannot use the pitch as an excuse for losing the third Test match that squandered their chances of qualifying for the ICC World Test Championship final. Questioning England’s selection tactics and batting approach, Hussain believes that the 10-wicket defeat shows England where they are as a “Test side in these conditions”.

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Out of the 20 English wickets that fell in the match, 14 of them were either bowled or LBW. Referring to the pattern, Nasser Hussain claimed that there was a “repetitive nature of the dismissals” in the game for England. He added that the visiting batsmen “kept playing for turn, and kept getting beaten on the inside”. Hussain also criticised captain Joe Root for not trusting England’s first-choice spinner Dom Bess, who went back home despite starring in the first Test and the entirety of the Sri Lankan tour.

Nasser Hussain on Joe Root bowling

England captain Joe Root also tried his arm during India’s first innings on Day 2. The part-timer ended up picking five Indian wickets while conceding just eight runs in his 6.2 overs. Referring to Root’s unplayable spell, Nasser Hussain described the pitch by saying “if Joe Root is taking five for eight, you can hardly say the pitch is a belter”.

Joe Root bowling figure in India’s first innings

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R Ashwin Test wickets

During the course of the match, veteran Indian off-spinner R Ashwin also achieved a major landmark in Test cricket. He became the second-fastest bowler in Test history to get to 400 wickets behind Sri Lankan legend Muttiah Muralitharan. As of now, the R Ashwin Test wickets tally composes of 401 wickets in 77 matches at an impressive average of 24.95.

R Ashwin speaks after historic accomplishment: watch video

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Image source: AP and ECB Twitter