England bowling coach Jon Lewis came in the defense of his batsmen’s approach in the final session of Day 4 of the opening Test against India, saying it wasn’t easy for them to score runs quickly on a “tricky” Chepauk pitch. England set India a world record chase of 420 after being bundled out for 178 in their second innings. The hosts were 39 for one at stumps.

Explaining the same during a virtual media interaction, the bowling coach said, “The guys were positive in the way they played. I don’t think it is a straightforward pitch where you can be reckless to score. But, we were very comfortable with the number of overs we wanted to bowl on Monday. We will try to have a bite with the second new ball if possible on Tuesday. We are comfortable with where we are at in the game.”

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Replying to another question on whether he thought 419 was enough and if the visiting team would have liked more time to bowl at the Indians, he said the batsmen played positively with an intent to score, and accelerating wasn’t easy.

Explaining the same, Lewis said, “The pitch is good but tricky. Accelerating against India in India isn’t always straightforward. The guys played positively with intent to score, but within the constraints of the conditions.”

Lewis was seen showing praises on the left-arm spinner Jack Leach, who came back strongly after being hammered by Rishabh Pant on the third day. He bowled Rohit Sharma with a beauty in India’s second innings.

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The bowling coach elaborated, “So pleased that he (Jack Leach) had got that wicket tonight. I thought he deserved that. This morning he bowled really well… yesterday obviously Pant went after him. Pant’s options were obviously high risk. Leach had been asked to do a specific job. The percentage is very much in Jack’s favor with the way he is bowling.”