Root lauds England’s mental strength after ‘brilliant chase’ at Old Trafford

Root lauds England’s mental strength after ‘brilliant chase’ at Old Trafford

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Joe Root (Pic Credits: Getty images)

England skipper Joe Root felt confident about his team’s ‘battling qualities’, when things looked all but beaten when England stumbled to 117-5 in their reply to a 277-run target set by Pakistan at Old Trafford.

“We knew it would take something special but after last summer it is very hard to stop believing. It’s a real strong trait of ours,” Root said at the post match conference.

Jos Buttler and Chris Woakes integrated to distribute a counter-attacking display in a 139-run sixth-wicket stand to help England cross the line.

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It was a brilliant chase – Joe Root

Joe Root (Pic Credits: Getty images)

“It was a brilliant chase. I couldn’t be more proud of the lads,” Root further said.

“Jos, it shows the mental strength, to play that situation and manage different passages of it, calculating risks, manipulating the spinner, brilliant innings, and Chris was magnificent too. The more important thing is we back it up again, and keep learning, but the clarity with which they played shows the maturity of the group too,” He added.

Chris Woakes (Pic Credits: Getty images)

Buttler (75) was caught leg-before with 21 runs still required and the second new ball due, but Woakes (84) stuck it out, edging the winning boundary down to the third man to lock a famous triumph.

“It was a good idea to take them on and put them under pressure,” Woakes said.

Later, talking about Buttler, Woakes said, “He is one of the best white-ball players in the world – one of the best run-chasers – and he showed why today.”

The middle-order pair targeted the Pakistan spinners with drives, sweeps, and reverse-sweeps as visiting skipper Azhar Ali lost his reviews in this process.

Azhar Ali (Pic Credits: Getty images)

“When Buttler and Woakes came in and played their shots, they put us under pressure and we couldn’t really answer them,” Ali said in the post match conference.

“So credit to them, they outplayed us in that period. Maybe we were too late to bring fielders up. It’s disappointing but not over yet, there are still two tests to go,” Ali added.

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