England did not expect the pitch for the pink-ball Test in Motera to spin from Day 1 but despite that, the outcome of the match could have been different had the visiting team scored more than 200 in their first innings, new spin bowling coach Jeetan Patel said on Monday. England was eventually got bundled out for 112 and 81 in the two innings after opting to bat and they fell to the guile of Indian spinners, led by Ravichandran Ashwin and Axar Patel, who took 18 England wickets among them.

Talking about the same during a virtual press conference, Jeetan Patel said, “We expect to get spinning surfaces, maybe we did not expect to spin as early as it did and hence the line-up we picked. It was a tough pitch to play on and we got on the wrong side of it. In the first innings when we won the toss, 112 was not going to be enough on any surface — spinning, flat, or seaming. If we had scored 200 or 230 in the first innings, the game could have been different.”

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Patel said England expects the fourth and final Test pitch, starting in Ahmedabad on Thursday, to also be a dust bowl but said the visitors are eager to “punch back” from the two straight losses.

Explaining the same, Jeetan Patel said, “The performance of Axar and Ashwin have been the question of the series really. The conversation is not to go away from being positive and (we are) looking to score. One thing this England side has done recently is to face and punch against it. I expect the fourth Test match to be on a spinning wicket and we have to get away to make sure if we win the toss how we are going to put up a decent total.”

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England’s bowling coach also said the pink ball also did not behave the way England thought it would “in terms of the pitch”. Asked if there would be changes in the team for the fourth Test, he said they need to be smart in terms of team selection.