England skipper Joe Root conceded that his side was outplayed in all three departments of the game and that the match was an education for his side.
“It is important that we learn. We take it as a bit of education and look at how they [India] go about things on a surface that has spun a huge amount and had more bounce than we expected,” said Root.
Root also felt the toss was a crucial factor although it did not decide the winner.
“It was a challenging wicket. The toss was an important one to win, but it wouldn’t guarantee us a win. India showed that you can score runs on it and found a way of managing the tricky surface. We have got to learn from that and take bits from India,” he said.
Exciting cricket
On the criticism the pitch attracted from some quarters, Root said, “I wouldn't say it was a good pitch, but it made for very exciting cricket. But that is not the reason why we lost the game. We were outplayed. We have to be very honest about that.”
He also felt that his bowlers needed to have done a better job in the first innings and been tighter.
“On day one, we could have squeezed the game, tried to make it difficult for them to rotate the strike and create pressure that way.”
