16 February,2024 07:05 AM IST | Rajkot | PTI
Ravindra Jadeja en route his hundred at Rajkot. Pic/AFP; (right) Paul Collingwood
England assistant coach Paul Collingwood said on Thursday that though the visitors exploited the early conditions well, it was toil for the remainder of the day as the ball went soft and the pitch did not have much for the bowlers.
India ended Day One of the third Test on 326-5 after being 33-3 at one stage.
"It was a great start. There was a bit of movement this morning, it seemed a bit cooler, a bit of moisture on the ground so the ball nipped around a bit. Jimmy [Anderson] and Woody [Mark Wood] were exceptional. As the ball gets softer, it's doing less," he said.
"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 [Rohit Sharma and Ravindra Jadeja] and Sarfaraz at the end, played exceptionally well. We threw everything at them in terms of plans and field positions," Collingwood added.
The former England batter said Stokes tried to manoeuvre the field given the lack of support from the pitch. He also defended Joe Root, whose dropped catch of Rohit Sharma (131) proved costly. "Nobody ever wants to drop catches and the beauty about the game is you've got to try to make more opportunities," Collingwood said.
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