India Vs England - Captains In Contrast

While Joe Root Has Trumped Virat Kohli In Terms Of Runs Scored, The Indian Skipper Has Outsmarted The Yorkshireman Tactically

- Ehtesham Hasan

A five-match Test series these days is a brutal test of endurance, more so for the captains and the backroom staff who need to tweak their gameplans every week, apart from keeping the morale of the team-high. There’s hardly any time for the players to rest and recover, let alone find form.

Another effect of a packed itinerary is that teams start getting on each other’s nerves quickly and the atmosphere can get combustible, as it did in the second Test at Lord’s. And that is where things start getting tricky for the captains.

England got sucked into the game of one-upmanship and let the Test slip out of their hands on the fifth morning. Not that India are complaining, but strategy-wise, a five-Test rubber also brings to light the captain’s ability to get the best out of his players in a dead-heat race. In that sense, it has been a contrasting journey this far for the two captains — Joe Root and Virat Kohli.