India vs England 2021: Virat Kohli Won The Toss And Lost The Test By Batting First - Geoffrey Boycott

Former England opener Geoffrey Boycott has stated that it was batting against the new ball that made the difference at Headingley between England’s thumping win and India‘s shocking loss. For the first time in the series, a pair of England openers, Rory Burns and Haseeb Hameed here, managed to not only see out the new ball but also put up a century opening stand.

Dawid Malan and Joe Root then consolidated on the work of the opener to put England in a pole position by end of Day 2. For India, KL Rahul failed in both the innings, and despite fifties from three Indian batsmen in the second innings, the trail proved too much as India conceded the loss by an innings.

“England won the Headingley Test because they played the new ball better than India. Negating the new ball is so crucial in Test matches and has a big impact on who wins the game. It gives the whole team a platform to go forward with confidence. England’s top three scored 199 runs. It was priceless,” Geoffrey Boycott wrote in his column for The Telegraph.

Virat Kohli won the toss and lost the Test by batting first: Geoffrey Boycott

Geoffrey Boycott further asserted that Virat Kohli’s decision to bat first under overcast conditions after winning the toss went against his side as India were bowled out for 78; they then collapsed in the second innings too on Day 4 when England took the new ball.

“Look at India. Virat Kohli won the toss and lost the Test by batting first on a damp pitch with overcast skies. They were four down at lunch because his batsman failed against the new ball. In the second innings, they failed again but that time against the second new ball at the start of Day 4. Eight wickets went down for only 63 runs in 19 overs,” he added.

With the series standing level at 1-1, the next two Test promises excitement. The fourth Test is slotted at The Oval from September 2.

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