If India pushes us, we will push them back: England coach Chris Silverwood
The head coach of the England national team, Chris Silverwood, said that his guys are not afraid and will definitely go to the fight if the Indian team under the leadership of Virat Kohli plays in the last three matches of the 5-test series.
India went into the final day on Monday simply hoping to avoid defeat but tail-end batting duo Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Shami helped turn the match on its head.
Setting the hosts 272 for victory, India’s pacers then bowled with aggression and control to bundle England out for 120 in the last two sessions for a 151-run victory and a 1-0 lead in the five-match series. Tensions between the two teams reached the boiling point on Day 5 when fast bowlers Anderson, Mark Wood and Ollie Robinson had a go at Jasprit Bumrah during his record 9th-wicket partnership with Mohammed Shami.
“The one thing we’re not scared of is a little bit of a fight,” coach Chris Silverwood said.
“They push us, we push back, to me it creates great Test cricket. We’re disappointed with the result, but what a Test match to watch. There has been a little bit of fire in there, emotion from two sets of proud players representing their country. I think it’s great, the guys are getting stuck in this fight and I’m enjoying it.
“Emotions ran high, there’s no doubt about it. Obviously, they targeted Jimmy in that first innings, we went back hard at them as well, and we tried to go toe to toe with them. Maybe it got away from us a little bit when the lower order was in. We’ll learn from that,” Silverwood said.
The England coach wants his players to keep the passion going when they take on India in the third Test at Headingley starting from August 25.
“What I don’t want to do is to lose the passion. I want us to keep that passion and use it in a real positive way. I’d say it gives you energy, it gives you fuel. The good thing is we’ve got a bit of space now, between this Test finishing and Headingley, so they can go home, spend a bit of time with their families, calm down a little bit, clear their minds and come back fresh,” Silverwood added.
