Ahmedabad: After wreaking havoc on the Indian team in the third T20I with his speed and accuracy, England fast bowler Mark Wood on Wednesday credited his partner Jofra Archer for maintaining constant pressure which has forced the opposition's batsmen to go after other bowlers, leading to dismissals.
Wood was the chief architect in setting up England's eight-wicket win after he broke India's spine by removing the likes of KL Rahul, Rohit Sharma, and Shreyas Iyer following which England took 2-1 lead in the five-match series.
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At a virtual press conference, Wood, said, "Jofra starts a lot of the times, because he keeps the pressure on, it forces the teams to take risks against the other bowlers. He keeps it tight, when I started well and I got the wicket, they had a new batsman and we could get a few dot balls in to build pressure. It is just about bowling in tandem and keeping the pressure on for each other. Just trying to make sure that we did not give anything loose."
Wood was economical in the first three overs, but India skipper Virat Kohli took him on in the fourth and final over, hitting him all around the park with a diverse range of shots. Among them, the standout was when he went deep inside the crease and pulled him with ease for a six.
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"We have a plan as a group. Chris Jordon is an experienced bowler. We decide on the ball we are going to bowl and then you try to execute that. The plan was good but the execution was wrong. On a couple of balls, I felt I executed what I wanted to bowl, but Kohli just played good shots and good players are allowed to do that. The first six he hit off me, was a hell of a shot," Wood said.
The fast bowler added, "If you allow good players to get in, he got in and he took his time and he caught up with it in the end. He is a fantastic player, but we were pleased with the score we kept them too. I will take the battering in the end for the early wickets which I got."
India will face England in the fourth T20I on Thursday at the Narendra Modi Stadium.
