By Simon Wilkes
England skipper Ben Stokes has urged his troops to “wipe this one under the carpet” after seeing them tumble to a 336-run defeat by India at Edgbaston.
Stokes once again won the toss and elected to bowl first, with the tourists reduced to 211 for five before recovering to post a first-innings score of 587, a total which featured a sublime 269 from India captain Shubman Gill.
England coach Brendon McCullum admitted in hindsight that the decision to bowl first was “wrong”, as England replied with 407 in the first innings before being bowled out for 271 in their second innings.
Missed opportunity
The New Zealander told BBC Sport: “I think as the game unfolded we probably looked back on that toss and said, ‘did we miss an opportunity there?’ And it’s probably fair.
“We didn’t expect that the wicket would play quite as it did and hence we probably got it slightly wrong.”
Bumrah return
With the series tied at 1-1 heading into this week’s third Test at Lord’s, India will be boosted by the return of star bowler Jasprit Bumrah, who was rested for the Edgbaston clash.
England, meanwhile, will be looking to freshen up their bowling options, with Gus Atkinson and Jofra Archer likely to replace Brydon Carse and Josh Tongue.
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Gill in the runs
In-form batter Gill helped himself to another century in India’s second innings at Edgbaston, scoring 161 as the tourists declared on 427 for six to set up the victory march.
Gill has plundered 585 runs in the two matches so far at an average of 146.25.
And Stokes admitted his counterpart is proving to be a thorn in England’s side, telling Sky Sports: “He’s had some two games, hasn’t he?
“You’ve got to give your opposition credit when it’s due, and for him to bang out as many runs as he has done in this game has been pretty special.
“We’ve had some unbelievable wins and some bad defeats, and I feel this team is quite good at staying level throughout those ups and downs.
“We knew coming into the series it wasn’t going to be easy, that there were going to be ebbs and flows because it’s two very good teams.
“We have to wipe this one under the carpet as quickly as we can because Lord’s day one will be coming round pretty quickly.”
Decision to make
The third Test starts at Lord’s on Thursday and Stokes hinted at changes to England’s line-up when he added: “It’s no secret that we have spent some time in the field and bowled some overs in the first two games, so we’ll have to see how everyone pulls up over the next two days.
“With it being a quick turnaround, there probably will be a decision we have to make.”
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SportJustSport writers