India vs England 2021: Alastair Cook And Andrew Strauss Rue England's 'Vulnerability Against Spin' Following Another Drubbing At The Hands Of India

Former England opening duo of Alastair Cook and Andrew Strauss have conceded that the Joe Root-led unit’s inability to counter high-quality spin in favorable conditions has proved to be their real undoing in the ongoing Test series against India.

The third Test match between India and England finished inside two days as the home side handed a ten-wicket hammering to the visitors to take a 2-1 lead in the four-match series.

There has been a lot of talk and criticism on the kind of pitches that have been dished out in the last two Test matches but Andrew Strauss conceded that more than the pitch, it’s the vulnerability that the English batsmen have against spinners that has contributed to their downfall.

After scoring a colossal 578 runs in the first innings of the first Test in Chennai, England have failed to register more than 200 runs in their last five innings. On Thursday, the batting-unit fell like nine pins and recorded their lowest total [81] in the series thus far.

“I’m feeling pretty flat now because there was so much adrenaline throughout the day and then that final session, you are hoping England might cause a little bit of alarm at least for India but obviously they played it the right way,” Andrew Strauss said on Channel 4.

“The truth is, over the last five innings England have shown their vulnerability to spin. That’s the big issue, that’s the big difference between the sides. In this Test match, as in the last, the pitch really played to India’s strengths.” he added.

‘It was a tough Test match to watch’- Alastair Cook on England’s ten-wicket hammering

Strauss’s former opening partner and the last England captain to win a Test series in India, Alastair Cook said that it was a tough Test to watch from England’s perspective.

Cook, however, added that a ten-wicket defeat scoreline does not reflect how close the game was. England knocked over India for 145 runs on the second afternoon but they handed whatever initiative that they had gained by getting bowled out for a mere 81 in their second innings.

Alastair Cook said that India deserved to win the Test as they were clearly the better side in the conditions that they were on offer in Ahmedabad.

“It was an amazing Test match – all action, mayhem. It doesn’t look great when India win by 10 wickets because it was a lot closer than that actually,” Alastair Cook said.

“India deserved the win. Obviously they are better in those conditions, but it was a tough Test match to watch. The pitch had such a big influence on that,” he signed off.

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