‘We threw everything at them’ – Paul Collingwood pleased with England’s effort

England’s assistant coach Paul Collingwood was pleased with his bowlers’ effort on the opening day of the third Test match against India at the Niranjan Shah Cricket Stadium, Rajkot on Thursday. India posted 326-5 after Rohit Sharma won the toss and elected to bat first.

England was able to put themselves in front as they scalped three early wickets and had India reeling at 33-3 on a flat pitch. Mark Wood bagged two wickets as he accounted for Yashasvi Jaiswal and Shubman Gill whereas Tom Hartley got rid of Rajat Patidar.

However, India was able to bounce back into the contest with Indian skipper Rohit Sharma and all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja adding a gargantuan alliance of 204 runs. Rohit scored a majestic knock of 131 runs to get back to form whereas Jadeja scored 112 runs.

“It was a great start, there was a bit of movement around this morning, it seemed a bit cooler, a bit of moisture on the ground so the ball nipped around a bit,” Collingwood said.

“Jimmy and Woody were exceptional. As the ball gets softer, it’s doing less. The spinners toiled away all day with little reward but when you’ve got quality batters like they have in the India team, they’re always going to get a response. The two guys who got hundreds and Sarfaraz at the end played exceptionally well.”

Meanwhile, Collingwood, who was known for his brilliant fielding at point, added the team needs rapid pace and the guile of a leg-spinner on tracks like these, which has nothing for the bowlers.

“You want a point of difference on these types of pitches,” Collingwood reckoned. “On flat pitches, you need something, be it a leg-spinner who can turn it both ways, or extreme pace. They are usually things that break those partnerships and give you an edge. Woody runs in tirelessly for this team, and he always does it with a smile on his face. Even the wicket of Rohit came at an important time. The bouncer plan, you have to think outside the box on how to take wickets, be it field placings or plans. I thought we did that pretty well today. The best wicket was the run out, he was chuffed to bits with that and it put a big smile on his face.

“We threw everything at them, in terms of plans and field positions. We fought hard all the way through the day, right to the end. It was a hard-fought day.”

India is currently 408-8 with Jasprit Bumrah and debut Dhruv Jurel at the crease.