Root stated that the visitors needed to be mentally strong and ready for any challenge coming their way and panicking when put under pressure wasn’t the way to go for the ODI World Cup winners. He felt that poor shot-selection cost the team important sessions in the match which should have ‘ideally’ gone their way.
Root pointed towards his team’s collapse from a strong position of 277 for four wickets at one stage to 353 all-out in the first innings. He blamed the batters’ poor choices of shot-making as their main cause for the loss but took nothing away from the impressive Kiwi quicks and Mitchell Santner in particular. Ben Stokes, Joe Denly and Rory Burns threw away their wickets after posting their respective half-centuries and compared a similar situation of the match where the hosts were rescued by a gritty partnership of 261 runs between BJ Watling and Santner. Root explained:
Root also talked about Jofra Archer’s average outing with the ball, taking only one wicket in his 42 overs. He put his weight behind the fast bowler and asked for patience, reminding that he was still relatively new to the international arena and will only improve with time and experience. He said:
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