English all-rounder Chris Woakes has credited Indian batsmen to bat well at pressure situation on the day one of the third Test at Trent Bridge (Nottingham). Trailing the five-match Test series by 2-0 after the second Test, India was batting on 307/6 at the end of the day one of the third Test.
After a good 60-run opening partnership between Shikhar Dhawan and KL Rahul, Indian lost three quick wickets. However, Indian skipper Virat Kohli and the vice-captain Ajinkya Rahane controlled the innings with a crucial 159-run partnership for the fourth wicket that set for a good first innings total.
Woakes feels it was an even day while he credited the Indian batsmen to play well in the tough batting condition at the initial stage.
He said at the end of the day, “It was an even day overall, I think. When you do win the toss, and go out there and have a bowl, there’s always that added pressure to skittle them early. But credit to India, I thought they played pretty well.”
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The right-arm English pacer Woakes (3/75) picked up three wickets on the day as he dismissed three top-order Indian batsmen in the first session. Woakes believes that the English bowlers bowled well in the good bowling condition but Indian batsmen replied to them very well.
Woakes quoted, “The ball moved around pretty much all day there was probably a period through the middle when it didn’t do quite as much, when the sun was out, and they capitalized on that. I think we bowled reasonably well, and they combated it pretty well. Throughout that middle period, we struggled to create a chance.
“We tried a few different things. But when you come off the back of a game when it’s all happened very quickly, sometimes you expect things to happen. But it’s five days for a reason, and sometimes you have to sit in and be patient.”
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While Rahane was dismissed on 81 runs, in-form Kohli just failed to complete his century as he was dismissed on 97 runs by the leg-spinner Adil Rashid. Woakes has claimed that the Kohli’s wicket was the big wicket for them.
Talking about Kohli’s wicket, Woakes said, “If he (Rashid) could do that when he’s on nought, that’d be nice. But Virat’s a world-class player, so to get him out at any point in the game is important because obviously he can go on and score big ones, go on and get ‘doubles’.
“So that’s a big wicket for us, and to then get another tonight was important. When I came on I felt like the ball actually started swinging after about 15 overs the lacquer came off and it started moving a little bit more in the air. The wickets leading to lunch were important.”
Just at the age of 20-year-old, the Indian wicketkeeper-batsman Rishabh Pant has made his Test debut in this game and gets off the mark with a brilliant sixer on the just second ball he faced. At the end of the day one, Pant was not out on 22 runs. After mentioning him as a good player in limited-overs cricket, Woakes said that they can create a chance against him on the second day morning.
Woakes said about Pant, “He’s an extremely good white-ball player. He obviously comes out and plays his shots, as we saw to Adil today. (But) I suppose in English conditions, you like to think if you put the ball in the right areas enough we might be able to find his edge.
The opening day of the third Test didn’t go well for the English all-rounder Ben Stokes, who has made a comeback in this Test after he has been not found guilty in brawl incident outside the Bristol nightclub that happened in last September. The right-arm pacer finished the day with the bowling figure of 15-1-54-0. However, Woakes believes in Stokes very well.
Woakes said about Stokes, “There was no real difference in Ben. He’s the same as he always is obviously desperate to do well, desperate to perform for England. He’s one of the hardest trainers in the team. Today probably didn’t go as well as he’d have liked. He’d have liked to pick up a couple of wickets, but that’s the game.”
