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England assistant coach Paul Collingwood had an interesting take on the heated exchange that ensued between England and India at Lord's. Collingwood was speaking at a virtual interaction organized by Sony Network ahead of the fourth Test against India on Wednesday.
Tensions reached a boiling point on Day Five of the second Test as England's bowlers kept targeting India's tailenders with hostile bowling. Jos Buttler and Jasprit Bumrah indulged in a verbal spat while Indian skipper Virat Kohli also expressed his fury from the dressing room.
Answering a question from ANI, Paul Collingwood admitted that the Lord's Test was an intense and close game. However, Collingwood refused to believe the narrative that India played as roughly as the Australians. He said:
"I think the Lord's Test was a very heated Test match, it was close all the way through. Both sides do not want to give an inch when you have two countries to whom winning means a lot and you do have heated exchanges, so it was great to watch."
Collingwood added:
"We were on the wrong end of the result. Both teams were head to head to each other. The Australians' behaviour and the way they played their cricket has changed over the years, so to say that India played like the Australians, would be a little bit harsh."
We want to make the best decisions to put India under pressure: Paul Collingwood
Paul Collingwood accepts Virat Kohli's passion reflecting in the way he leads. However, the 45-year old stressed that England are focused on their game plan and want to keep the visitors under the pump. He said:
"Virat is a proud man, he leads his country with a lot of emotions. We are very much focused on what we do as an England cricket team, we are trying not to focus on what India do what decisions they make. We want to make the best decision to put India under pressure, whatever decisions they make are up to them."
England are likely to make a few changes for the Oval Test. With Jos Buttler set to miss the game, Jonny Bairstow will keep wickets for the side. Additionally, they could leave out James Anderson or Ollie Robinson out of the squad for Chris Woakes.
