IND vs ENG | Frustrating to end the series on a losing note; Leach has been brilliant, admits Joe Root 

IND vs ENG | Frustrating to end the series on a losing note; Leach has been brilliant, admits Joe Root 

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India defeated England 3-1 in the four-match series

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BCCI

English skipper Joe Root, after the series loss at the hands of India, admitted that it was a very disappointing end to the series, however, he added that Jack Leach did a great job for the side. He also had big praise for Ben Foakes, whom he termed arguably the best keeper in the world.

After whitewashing Sri Lanka (2-0), England got off to a brilliant start in India as they registered a win in the opening Test of the four-match series. However, things went pretty bad from the second Test onwards as England lost the remainder of the Tests and ended up losing the series 1-3 to India. Had England won the series, they would have made it to the final of the World Test Championship but they were out of contention after losing the day-night Test that finished well inside two days. 

Even in the Test series finale, England made some bizarre selection calls and also batted poorly despite the advantage of batting first at the Narendra Modi Stadium. Speaking at the press conference, Joe Root, admitted that it was a disappointing end to the series and also added that India won the key moments in the series. 

"There have been times we had a chance to wrestle the game in our favour, to get on top, just didn't manage to do it. India played those important, key moments better than us in these last three games and credit for being able to do that better than we do. So, it has been disappointing, it has been frustrating to finish the series on a note that we have but we are going to keep looking forward as a team," Root said at the post-match press conference, reported TOI. 

One of the highlights of the series for England was how well their wicketkeeper-batsman Ben Foakes, who replaced Jos Buttler from the second Test onwards, performed with the gloves on some challenging wickets. Root termed him the best gloveman in the world besides applauding Jack Leach, who finished as the third leading wicket-taker in the series. 

"Ben's keeping this series has been excellent, I think, he is arguably the best keeper in the world, he is a fine player. What I am impressed with is how Jack has performed on this trip, he has been brilliant, he has certainly got better and better as the tour progressed and he has been a very attacking option," added Root.

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