Woakes’s thoughts on the third Test match

After the marvellous comeback from the Indian batsmen on the first day of the third match, Chris Woakes had something to say. He praised the Indian batsmen for capitalizing on the conditions and ending the day with 307 for six.

At the end of the day, India played pretty well was what Woakes had to say. He added that if you chose to bowl first after winning the toss there’s the pressure to get wickets fast. Woakes was able to get three wickets in the morning that did negate India’s strong opening.

Things went in India’s favour after Virat and Rahane came to bat. They were able to put up a huge score of 159 runs. Talking about the favourable conditions, Woakes said that when the sun was out the Indian batsmen capitalized on that.

At Trent Bridge, captain Virat fell for 97 while his deputy fell for 81. Adil Rashid was the man responsible for denying Kohli his century. According to Woakes, the team tried different things, sometimes things don’t work out the way you’d want it too. It is all normal and one needs to be patient.

Stumps on Day 2 of the 3rd Test. #TeamIndia lead by 292 runs.#ENGvIND pic.twitter.com/9bZAUnz23E

— BCCI (@BCCI) August 19, 2018

According to Woakes, the English bowled pretty well and the Indian batsman combated it well also. He talked about Virat being a world class player and that being the main reason why they try to get him out as soon as possible. If not then he (Virat) can score big ones and even get doubles.

Woakes also had good words for the debutant Rishabh Pant. He said he was a very good white ball player. He also had a few words for Ben Stokes. Many felt that Ben’s performance was close to if not just average. Going with 15 overs and being wicketless.

According to Woakes, there wasn’t any difference in Ben. He was the same Ben, just not his day. This happens in a game like this. Obviously Ben would have loved to get wickets but you have to take it as it comes. Ben obviously wants to give his best for his team and England and he has and will.