India vs England 2021: Very Well Aware That Virat Kohli And India Can Respond Strongly - Joe Root
Published - 12 Feb 2021, 12:21 PM | Updated - 23 Aug 2024, 12:40 AM
Despite winning the first Test match by a massive margin of 227 runs and dominating for the most part of the game, England captain, Joe Root is not sitting relaxed as he acknowledges the capability of Virat Kohli and the Indian team to bounce back after a loss – especially after the series victory in Australia.
England handed India only their second Test match at home defeat. Joe Root, who was Man of the Match in the first Test for his double century, opines that Team India will come out firing all cylinders in the second Test which commences on Saturday at the same venue, Chennai.
While Virat Kohli has not scored a Test hundred since November 2019, Root points out that the 32-year-old has a marvellous record in home conditions – 3641 runs at 67.43.
“I expect Virat to want to come out and for India to respond straight away from ball one of the Test match, whatever it is that the toss dictates. He is a proud guy with an unbelievable record in his own conditions as captain and a batter. He will want to come to the fore in this series sooner rather than later. We are very well aware of that,” Joe Root said as quoted by India Today.
We will play the game how we want to play it: Joe Root
With the victory in Chennai, Joe Root equalled Michael Vaughan’s most Test wins record of 26 matches as the England skipper. The 30-year-old says that his side will continue to play in the manner in which they have played so far and achieved major success – the Three Lions have won their last six away matches.
“All we have got to do is keep trying to play in the same manner as we have done in the first game and the two games in Sri Lanka. Respond well to the conditions, the situation, and the surface in front of us. Try and be as ruthless as we can be if we get in a position of strength within the game.
“We will play the game how we want to play it. It is really important. We have had great success going about things in a certain way in the recent past. It suits the group and the personalities that make up this team and squad. We will go about things in our own manner. The most important thing for me is that we try and follow through on our game plan once again,” Joe Root added.
For the visitors, Jofra Archer has been ruled out of the second Test due to an elbow injury; on the other hand, the hosts have Axar Patel fit and available for selection.
