Alastair Cook: England ‘can definitely’ beat India but Joe Root ‘balancing act’ an issue in Ben Stokes era

Former England captain Sir Alastair Cook believes that England will still feel very confident in their series against India despite losing the second Test - but he does have concerns about the role of Joe Root.

England lost the second Test by 106 runs with India sealing victory on Monday morning off the back of mammoth scores from Yashasvi Jaiswal and Shubman Gill and a stellar display of fast bowling from Jasprit Bumrah, who finished the match with figures of 9-91.

But England were never truly out of the game and even in the fourth innings threatened at times to make things uncomfortable for India.

And speaking after the game, TNT Sports expert Cook said he believes that India are still very beatable.

He said: “I think India will be more relieved than anything else, they would have been under the cosh after that first Test win from England. And when you are under the cosh, with the weight of expectation on this India side to go out and deliver a performance good enough to win will help.

“This India side, you can definitely beat this India side again there’s no doubt about that. This England side can do it. England have gotten close here without any hundreds and a lot of starts, without one person changing the game.”

Sitting alongside him, former England bowler Steven Finn agreed saying: “They’ll think there are chinks in this Indian armour definitely. They’ll think that three players won the game for India, Bumrah, Jaiswal and Gill.”

Earlier in the day, at a break between play, Cook had said he thought England opener Zak Crawley was putting the pressure back on India and that they were starting to crack a bit, but things changed when they got him out and then Root.

"Zak Crawley played really nicely. He was studious, he attacked the bad ball and got himself to 73.

“But when he fell lbw to Kuldeep, you just felt the momentum change a little bit. Everyone has got starts but the crucial wicket, for me, was the one of Joe Root. You could see the passion in the Indian team when they took those wickets.

“The Crawley one, when that was overturned, the veins were popping out of Kuldeep's head in celebration. That signifies how much England have had them on the ropes - even though it seems so impossible that they might score those 399 runs, India did feel the pressure."

On Root, both Cook and Finn were concerned with the shot that he got out to. Both pointed out that whilst many players who have come into the England team under captain Ben Stokes and coach Brendon McCullum have enjoyed the freedom and attacking onus, it is in contrast to the style that made Root one of the best batters in the world before this new era.

“At that stage I understand the need to be positive, he had 16 from nine deliveries being super positive but when we’re talking about controlled aggression and playing the percentages in your favour it doesn’t feel as though at that stage with Ashwin drifting it across him that playing that square of the wicket was a percentage shot for him.” Cook said.

“It’s a great balancing act, Joe Root in this Ben Stokes era. He’s one who’s probably found his tempo quite hard to find. All these other players who have come into the Ben Stokes era, they haven’t dominated Test cricket, they didn’t know what their game was about and actually this was a very clear direction for them to play.

“On the other hand there’s one batsman – Joe Root – who knows exactly how to play, his method worked for him and he’s so desperate to be the great team man after being captain that he’s throwing himself in for it and sometimes he plays shots like that that are unusual for someone who has seen a lot of him batting.

“On the flip side of it, if you talk about criticising that shot, his record has improved under Ben Stokes. Very similar averages but his strike rate has gone up to 75. So for people to say it isn’t suiting his style, the stats on this way say it’s improving his game.”

At this point Finn asked Cook whether it might be having an impact that Root is the former captain in the side. It is a role that Cook is familiar with having remained in the team when he stepped down as captain to be replaced by Root.

“You’re so conscious about not stepping on the new captain’s toes. You’ve got to really park your ego and say 'no I’ve had my turn as England captain', I was good, bad or average anyone can decide then you get into a new environment and listen to things that clearly you didn’t do yourself.

“There were certainly times early on when Joe was sending his message, I was sitting there going 'no I don’t agree with that message, because I just didn’t, we’re allowed different opinions but you have to just go 'no it’s Joe’s turn'. He was brilliant with me, we spoke a lot behind closed doors but less in public or in the changing room because I didn’t want it to seem like I was treading on his toes or conflicting with his ideas.

“We all know Joe, he is team first all the time so it must be quite tough because he would have seen his side, a lot of the same players, to go from winning one in 17 to two years later with pretty much the same players to winning. But to his credit you haven’t heard any kind of moaning behind the scenes, he just got on with it and looks like he is loving playing cricket.”

Earlier in the day when discussing Root’s wicket, Cook said that he doesn’t think the Yorkshire batter is getting the balance quite right at the moment at the crease.

"Joe Root is England's best batter. But he does struggle sometimes with the tempo of this Bazball era.

"He sees all of these other people playing aggressive shots, which really suits their style... and he is desperate to fit in with what Brendon [McCullum] and Ben [Stokes] are doing.

"Sometimes I don't think he gets the balance between defence and attack quite right. He had 16 off 10 balls here... I don't think he has in complete control.

"We don't know what his finger is like and how bad that is. We don't know all the facts... but for a Root innings in isolation, I feel he was too aggressive today."

You can watch every ball of England's tour of India live on TNT Sports and discovery+.

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