Joe Root wants Eng batsmen to do this ONE thing during England vs India 2nd Test

England batting lineup was all over the place during England vs India 1st test which ended in a draw just a couple of days back. Team India pacer Jasprit Bumrah had a terrific outing picking up 9 England wickets in two innings.  England skipper Joe Root had a good outing with the bat as he scored an impressive century in the second innings to keep the team alive in the first Test. India vs England 2nd Test is scheduled to take place on Thursday and Root wants his batsmen to trust their defence for success in Test cricket and apply pressure on Indian bowlers to not let them settle. 

England Vs India: Joe Root wants England batsmen to be defensively strong 

Joe Root's comment comes after former English cricketer Geoffrey Boycott has slammed home batsmen for their poor techniques. Speaking to reporters ahead of the second Test at Lord’s, Root said: “I think in Test cricket, it’s about a fine margin and a fine balance. Of course, you need a strong technique and should be able to trust your defence, but you also need to apply pressure on occasions. If you just allow the bowler to bowl at you, it gets difficult".

He further said, “One thing that we did see (in the first Test) was being able to get off the strike which is really important. You just need to rotate the strike, you don’t necessarily need to crash it to the boundary ropes twice in an over. It’s important to get that balance between scoring and defending, and managing certain passages of play. Certainly, we discussed how we can do that better as a team on the field.”

Moeen Ali gets England recall for Lords Test 

Moeen Ali will be back in England whites after being recalled for the upcoming Lords Test. As per the  IND vs ENG 2nd test schedule, the match will be played on August 12.  The allrounder last played a Test in February, also against India in the second Test in Chennai, where he claimed eight wickets in the match, but subsequently returned home as part of England's rest and rotation policy.

The call-up for the second Test means that Ali will play his first Test on home soil since the 2019 Ashes when he featured in England's defeat in the series opener at Edgbaston, then took an indefinite break from the format, for the remainder of the series as well as the subsequent tours of New Zealand and South Africa.

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