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Former England captain Nasser Hussain was perplexed by Joe Root's decision to persist with the fast bowling pair of James Anderson and Ollie Robinson instead of Moeen Ali on Day 4 of the Oval Test. England were made to work hard in the second innings as they had to bowl 148.2 overs as India amassed a lead of 368.
Joe Root continued to persist with his side's new ball pair deep into the second session, which has drawn criticism from some quarters. Anderson and Robinson ultimately ended up bowling 65 overs between them for three wickets.
Off-spinner Moeen Ali ended up with two wickets, including that of India captain Virat Kohli, in his 26 overs. Additionally, it was Root's off-spin that eventually gave his side a breakthrough after Shardul Thakur (60) and Rishabh Pant (50) piled on the runs.
Nasser Hussain reckons Moeen Ali was under bowled and not brought in at the right time into the attack. Writing in his column for the Daily Mail, Hussain noted:
"I was mystified by Joe Root’s tactics between lunch and tea. On a flat pitch, and on the fourth afternoon — probably the hottest of the series — every other team in the world would have been bowling their frontline spinner. Instead, Root kept flogging seamers Anderson and Ollie Robinson, who have been going hard at India all series."
Hussain noted how visiting teams would have been taking advantage of the dryness due to the heat by probing with a spinner from one end. He also felt that Moeen Ali's expensive economy could have been a factor in Root's decision making.
Root got it wrong with the field he gave Pant: Nasser Hussain
Whenever Pant comes out to bat, the usual norm for skippers has become the trademark spread-out field to counter aggression. But it was a different Pant that was on show at The Oval. The wicketkeeper-batsman took his time, curbed his natural game and forged a vital partnership with Shardul Thakur to give India the edge.
Hussain felt that Root could have brought in the field a little bit to play with Pant's mind as he kept withholding his usual swashbuckling approach. He played with a strike rate of less than 50 while hanging at the crease to score his first half-century of the series. Hussain added:
"I also felt Root got it wrong with the field he gave Pant. Because he was batting responsibly for the first time in the series, Root should have dangled some kind of carrot by bringing deepish mid-off up, and tempting Pant to hit over the top."
"Instead, he kept the fielder back, which allowed Pant to push easy singles. He was trying to be sensible, which is why England had to tempt him out of his shell. They didn’t, which summed up their day: long, hot and extremely frustrating," Hussain said.
Pant's fifty, along with contributions from the lower order, ensured that India set a target of 368 for the hosts to chase in the fourth innings. England's opening pair survived the last session and will head into the final day with all their wickets intact and 291 more runs to win.
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