NEW DELHI: England assistant coach
Jeetan Patel
on Friday conceded that it was a challenging day for his bowlers against a group of Indian batters skilled at consistently putting the opposition under pressure.
Following their dismissal for 246 in the first innings, the England bowlers struggled to bring their team back into the match, with India accumulating 421 for seven to take a lead of 175 runs.
"It was a tough day. Playing against India in India is tough as they create a lot of pressure. The way we created chances, some may have gone a little bit our way, then it would have been different. But that's cricket," said Patel during his post-day press conference.
"But it's another opportunity to play Test cricket in India, to take Test wickets, another opportunity to learn."
Patel commended
Joe Root
for providing valuable support to the three primary spinners with an impressive bowling spell.
"We saw a typical Joe Root. He created opportunities. He is going to get hit for boundaries. He is going to bowl attacking deliveries and ask attacking questions. He was fantastic."
The former New Zealand spinner said left-arm spinner
Jack Leach
is doing well after taking a hit on his knee while fielding.
"He banged his knee last night on the outfield and again banged today. Outfield a little sluggish. But he bowled really well. That's what Jack is.
He will be back, one of the strongest guys in the team. He is a tough bloke and never shirk responsibility," he added.
Patel also backed debutant spinner Tom Hartley who was carted around by
Yashasvi Jaiswal
and other Indian batters.
"Hartley wanted to take on Jaiswal and
Rohit Sharma
. We spoke last night, ‘Well, it happens. We'll come back tomorrow.' I am not going to argue with Anil Kumble (on his analysis of England bowling).
He is a legend of the game. But on these sorts of pitches, it is all about how many times can you hit the seam and how many times can you miss the seam," he elaborated.
(With inputs from PTI)
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