"Turned up this morning, and really felt like we had the opportunity to win a Test match"- Joe Root

England captain Joe Root doffed his proverbial hat to the reverse-swinging masterclass by Jasprit Bumrah. Root pinpointed the spell by the Indian pace spearhead as the 'turning point:' of the fourth Test, which England lost by 157 runs.

Joe Root credited India for exploiting the reverse-swing to deadly effect in the afternoon session on the fifth day. But the England captain couldn't hold back his disappointment at the inability of his team to capitalise on a good opportunity to do 'something special'.

India conquer The Oval – their first Test win at the venue since 1971 💪#WTC23 | #ENGvIND | https://t.co/zRhnFiKhzZ pic.twitter.com/aH7r53QMst

— ICC (@ICC) September 6, 2021

Elaborating on the same in his post-match interview, Joe Root said:

"It is frustrating not to be able to get something from the game today. Turned up this morning, and really felt like we had the opportunity to win a Test match. That opening partnership was outstanding; credit to India they got the ball to reverse, and they made good use of that; it was a brilliant spell of bowling by Bumrah. That really was the turning point in the game. So, credit there!"

England had India on the ropes on the first evening after they bowled the tourists out for 191. Despite Shardul Thakur's late heroics, the home side looked good to take a huge first-innings lead and bat India out of the Test.

However, England stuttered in response, and it took a brilliant 81 from Ollie Pope and decent contributions from the lower middle order to help them take a 99-run lead.

Root, though, reckoned that England should have been more ruthless with the bat, and the batsmen who got to 20-30 should have kicked on and scored big. He said:

"More from my side of things; we look at other areas in the Test match where we may have missed opportunities...could have been a little bit better, could have made more of that advantage of the first-innings lead and obviously in the field; as difficult as they are, you've got to take chances against world-class players,"

Jasprit Bumrah delivered a reverse-swing masterclass during the afternoon session. He knocked out Ollie Pope with an inswinger before cleaning up Jonny Bairstow with a pinpoint yorker.

Root was comprehensive in his praise for the Indian pacer. But Root also added that his batsman would have to find a way to see off such passages of play, saying:

'I think you've always gotta look to find ways to get better and manage different periods of play. But at the same time, you've got to be realistic about things, and understand that that was world-class bowling. He saw the opportunity in the game, and performed extremely well. Sometimes you just got to find a way to managing through that period,"

Jasprit Bumrah's sensational spell, coupled with the dual scalps Ravindra Jadeja provided, especially the one of Haseeb Hameed, broke open the game for India. The hosts lost four wickets for just six runs in that scintillating passage, which turned the game decisively in favour of the visitors.

Shardul Thakur got the big scalp of Joe Root before the Tea break. Umesh Yadav then wrapped things up with three wickets after Tea to hand India an unassailable 2-1 lead in the 5-match series.

---

"That's the place we have to be more ruthless in my opinion" - Joe Root urges batting unit to be more clinical

England won the toss on the first day and restricted India to 191 on the first evening. That was when Root's decision to bowl first appeared to be the correct one.

Root was asked if he felt the decision was the right one given the end result. The England captain said that his side's inability to drive home the advantage by taking a huge first-innings lead proved to be their undoing.

While Root chose not to pinpoint individuals, the 30-year-old urged his batting group to convert their starts into big innings. Root said:

"Whenever you lose the game you can look at the loss (on his decision to bowl first). I think more than anything you look at what lead we had, what we could have potentially had. That's the place we have to be more ruthless, in my opinion. We have got to make that 200-run lead instead of a 100-run lead."

"As I said, it's about those good partnerships; we had a number of good starts, guys getting in and not managing to go on. I think that's something we have got to be clinical at, not get complacent and comfortable, just go on and get those big scores, which we did at Leeds,''

Root added:

"Even earlier than that. Look at my dismissal that evening. If you go to the end of the day with one less wicket out, the next day could have looked very different. You can pick out individuals, but I don't think that's the case. Collectively as a batting group, every single one of us, if you get to 20-30, you (must) go and make it count,"

England's slip-catching was once again dreadful in the fourth Test. While Root and Overton dropped a catch apiece in India's first innings, Burns shelled Rohit Sharma twice in the second essay.

The dropped catches eventually proved to be decisive, as the Indian opener cashed in to score a match-winning maiden overseas Test ton.

❌ DROPPED! ❌England put down another in the slips... Woakes the unlucky bowler again, with Overton spilling this chance off Pant at third slip.India 127-6. #ENGvIND 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿🇮🇳 📺 Watch 👉 https://t.co/xBVtJ4Fh61 📱 Blog / clips 👉 https://t.co/qEIoKsl9A5 pic.twitter.com/FXETAXpGCX

— Sky Sports Cricket (@SkyCricket) September 2, 2021

Root was sympathetic to Burns, as he felt that some of the chances were difficult. He lauded Burns' effort, but admitted that it is an area where England have got their work cut out, saying:

"Yea, I mean some very difficult chances there. A lot of other players, I think, a lot of other players might not have even got to them like Burns. He covered a lot of ground, and it was a great effort. We gotta keep getting better and take our chances. And we certainly do that, it’ not for the lack of effort or lack of work,’’

Thanks to their win in the fourth Test, India have now won two games in a Test series in England for the first time since 1986. Their latest win at The Oval is their first in 50 years. By taking a 2-1 lead in the five-match series, they have now ensured that they will not lose a Test series in England for the first time since 2007.