England all-rounder Moeen Ali has joined in praise for the Indian bowling attack labelling them as one of the best he’s ever faced.
Coming in to bat at number three, Ali scored a patient 50 and also stitched a 73-run stand with Alastair Cook before a collapse towards the end saw England being reduced to 198/7 at the end of the first day’s play.
“I just tried to take it a ball at a time. I thought they bowled really well. The wicket was quite slow, but the ball was always doing something, so I just tried to stay as patient as I could. The Indian bowlers didn’t give me a lot to hit. So I just tried to bat. I don’t always play like that, but we were in a decent position,” said Ali, as quoted by The Indian Express.
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“You’re always hoping to let them bowl and bowl. But they just kept coming, bowling same pace, same areas. It was one of the best bowling attacks I’ve faced. They were just always, consistently there,” he added.
Mohammad Shami was indeed unfortunate to have not got a wicket although he beat Ali’s bat a number of times. But he held on to play a gritty knock that came off 170 balls.
Much like the last Test, Ali was promoted to bat at number three and commenting on his new batting position, he said, “Probably wasn’t good enough to nick them. When I went into tea, the guys were calling me Geoffrey Boycott, then they came in, played and missed their first ball, and I was pretty happy with that.
“I’ve not done it (batting at number three) much for England, and I don’t see why I can’t bat there. I just go out and try to play according to the situation. I bat number three for Worcester and managed to score some runs (double hundred) there earlier this year. Why not?
“Sometimes, it’s a good thing. There are times when you can balance the team out, and you get into the side probably before most of the other guys. But there are times when you just feel you want a set batting position,” added Ali.
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