England skipper Joe Root said he feels like the spectators have almost been "robbed" as they came to watch to the stadium to watch Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma face the likes of James Anderson and Stuart Broad but instead watching him taking wickets.
Riding on brilliant spells from Axar Patel and Ravichandran Ashwin, India registered a comprehensive 10-wicket win over England in the pink-ball Test to go 2-1 up in the four-match series, in Motera, on Thursday.
It was a spin-dominated match with both Anderson and Broad going wicketless, while part-time spinner Root managed to pick five wickets in the Indian first innings.
"Let's not hide away from the fact that we have been outplayed and we have to accept that. It is a real shame because it is a fantastic stadium and 60,000 people came to watch the brilliant, iconic Test match. I feel for them, they came to watch Virat Kohli face Jimmy Anderson and Stuart Broad or Jack Leach, and watch Ashwin against our top guys like Ben Stokes," Root said in the post-match press conference.
"And it almost feels like they have been robbed, they instead got to see me getting wickets which should not be the case. The fact of the matter is that it was challenging for both teams and as players, all we can do is play with what is in front of you. Credit to India, they outplayed us on that wicket," he added.
Commenting on the pitch, Root said it is not for players to decide whether it is fit for purpose or not and it is something that International Cricket Council (ICC) has to decide.
"I think that this surface, it's a very challenging one, is a very difficult one to play on. It is not for players to decide whether it is fit for purpose or not and that is upto the ICC. As players we are going to try and counter what is in front of us as best as we can," he said.
