Dropped chances set the tone: Moeen

Indian fielders dropped three chances in the first hour of the match on Wednesday and on Thursday Ben Stokes was dropped twice (on 60 and 61) by Wriddhiman Saha off Umesh Yadav. Stokes went on to get highest score for England in the first innings with his 128-run knock. Ali said it was nothing new in the game but surely it helped them. “We have done that before a few times also. It can happen in cricket. But it set the tone for the rest of the day. We had a decent start at the end and it could have been lot different if those catches were taken. But these things happen and I am sure the guys will be working very on that,” Moeen said. The left-handed batsman said the bounce on the SCA track will get lower and batting will be more difficult now. 

“The bounce, I think is going to get little bit lower. The cracks are opening up a little bit. There was also a bit more spin as you saw tonight. It’s a very good pitch and it was very nice. I think the bounce will be a problem,” said Ali. Ali, who was on 99 at stumps on Wednesday, said he had slept well. “I slept really well. I knew I had to get only one more run. I was fine,” said the Asian origin player. “There was no spin yesterday and today only towards the end there was a bit of spin. The good thing is we made them bowl a lot of overs. I think we are pleased with the way we played spin. “I know there wasn’t much spin but we didn’t just prod around. We used our feet, went back and forth and took the attacking option. I think the wickets are going to get tougher through the series,” he added. Moeen said a change in mentality was the reason for his recent success with the bat. 

“I used to give away my wicket a few times. Last few months, I came to bat at number three and really taken the responsibility as a batsman. Last winter obviously I didn’t play that well. I worked hard on my batting this summer. I was working hard in the nets. Hopefully you will see the results. The roles we play in this side are very important for the team. In this series I will have to bowl spin and do the batting as well. My aim is to always bat 200 balls and if I can bat 200 balls then I will score a hundred,” he added.