Paul Farbrace was in no mood to put a positive spin on England’s first-innings collapse in Visakhapatnam, blaming a lack of fight from the batsmen and criticising Joe Root’s shot selection.
With Stuart Broad sent for scans in the evening to assess the extent of suspected tendon damage to his right foot, this was a grim second day for the tourists, who after losing five wickets for 76 runs can now expect a 1-0 deficit in the series scoreline to follow this second Test unless a miracle can be produced.
The England assistant coach said: “We didn’t show enough fight. Those are times when we need to show a bit more resilience and get stuck in. International cricket finds you out quickly and you’ve got to adapt your game.
“If we are going to be successful as a team, we have to cope well in all conditions. We knew it was going to be tough but nothing has happened from the pitch or their bowling that surprised us. So there’s no point bleating and making excuses. We have to find a way to cut that out if we’re serious about being one of the best teams in the world.”
On Root’s dismissal, which saw the No3 caught in the deep on 53 having already run out Haseeb Hameed earlier in the innings, Farbrace said: “That’s probably a time when Joe will go back and say he could have done things differently.
“He doesn’t need telling. He is a high‑class player and he will be massively disappointed he hasn’t gone on and got a big score, particularly in the situation where it was tough.
“Playing positively and playing aggressively doesn’t mean to say you are looking to whack the ball for four and six. It means being positive with your feet, positive with your movement and therefore you defend and leave well.”
Farbrace said England were “not panicking” over the struggles of their No4, Ben Duckett, whose six Test innings have exposed a deficiency against right-arm spin and returned only one half-century in the process.
Ravi Ashwin, the bowler who cleaned up the left-hander’s stumps on five, was less than charitable, saying: “I’m very sure he’s going to thrust his pad forward the next innings. I’m just looking forward to trying to play on his confusion.”
