Brendon McCullum [Source: @LostMyAxe/X.com]
India won the second Test against England in the Tendulkar-Anderson Trophy at Edgbaston and England's coach Brendon McCullum was seen being honest owing up their mistake. Speaking after the match, McCullum opined that they thought the pitch should have got better to bat on but instead, England's fortunes were reversed.
As Shubman Gill and Co. stomped on with a dominating knock in both innings of the Test, Ben Stokes' decision at the toss to bowl first seemed to have worked perfectly in India's favour. The men in Blue piled up a mammoth 587 in the first innings and though England seemed resilient, they were bundled for 427.
McCullum Owes Up To England's Mistake
Speaking of the blunder at the toss while expecting pitch conditions to work in their favour, Brendon McCullum called out the 'missed opportunity' yet called it 'fair'.
"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 the wicket would play quite as it did and hence we probably got it slightly wrong. It was only a brilliant partnership from Jamie Smith and Harry Brook which gave us any balance in the game throughout the five days," McCullum said to Daily Mail.
Even though Brendon McCullum lauded Smith and Brook's anchoring, he rued the missed opportunity yet again that might have cost him the game.
"That's something we've got to look at. We're not rigid with our plans. It's just we thought this pitch might get better to bat on as we went through the five days, but as we saw it didn't," McCullum added.
With the series now tied 1-1, the Lord's Test from July 10 is going to be an absolute blockbuster. With three matches remaining, the hustle is fresh for both teams as both Gill and Ben Stokes would like to bag the Lord's Test and get an advantage in the series early.