India vs England 2021: There Was A Lot Of Movement On Pitch On Day 1, Paul Collingwood Defends Indian Batsmen

England cricket team’s assistant coach Paul Collingwood asserted on Tuesday that there was a lot of movement on the pitch on Day 1 of the Headingley Test.

India captain Virat Kohli won the toss and elected to bat first as England’s bowling stalwart James Anderson (3/6) got some early wickets in the first hour of the play and later Craig Overton (3/14) and Sam Curran (2/27) dismissed the lower-middle order and the tail-enders to fold the visitors’ innings on 78.

The conditions were tricky for the batsman: Paul Collingwood

Collingwood said the conditions were very tricky for the Indian batters and also appreciated his bowlers for bowling brilliantly.

“I thought we bowled tremendously well. It is easy to criticise the Indian batsmen when you are an Indian supporter but there was a lot of movement on the pitch on the first day,” Collingwood said in a virtual press conference.

“It was kind of conditions with a bit of moisture in the pitch and it was tricky for the batsman, the way we bowled against them. Virat (Kohli) said in his post-match conference, the accuracy and relentless of our bowlers was something that they struggled against and accuracy I thought was fantastic,” he added.

India eventually lost the third Test by an innings and 76 runs as the match was finished inside four days. Collingwood called India as a high-quality team and also mentioned that his team is preparing for the upcoming match keeping in mind that India will come hard against them.

“Can they (India) bounce back? I am sure we are certainly preparing ourselves for an Indian bounce back. We know that they are a high-quality team and we have always prepared ourselves that they are going to be 100 percent ready for the next battle in new set conditions at the Oval,” Collingwood asserted. 

Australia’s game and behaviour has changed over the years: Paul Collingwood

The former England white-ball skipper feels that players with a competitive mindset do tend to fall into heated arguments while talking about India’s aggression during the Lord’s Test and also noted that Indian players are like Australians in terms of their aggressive behaviour is probably a bit harsh.

“Both sides, they don’t want to give an inch. When you have two countries where cricket means a lot to them, a set of players for whom winning means a lot, then you do have heated exchanges,” Collingwood said.

“It was a great game to watch and we were on the wrong end of the result, but the level of intensity that we got from the game, the performance level we got from the game were right up there with anything you would see.

“And both teams were head to head with each other…I think the Australians, their behaviour and the way they play their game of cricket is changed over the years. So to say that they are like the Australians is probably a little bit harsh,” he added. 

The fourth Test will be played at Kennington Oval in London, starting on September 2.

Also Read: India vs England 2021: We Have To Continue To Keep Virat Kohli Quiet If We Aim To Win The Series, States Joe Root