'Fans Robbed': India's Two-Day Win Is Bad For Test Cricket, Pundits Say

Victorious India and dejected England players took a rest Friday on what should have been the third day of a key five-day clash, with warnings that the speed of the result had tarnished the Test forma

England captain Joe Root, who took five wickets with his off-spin, said he felt for the fans.

"They have come to watch Virat Kohli face Jimmy Anderson and Stuart Broad or Jack Leach, and watch Ashwin against our top batters like Ben Stokes," he said. "I almost feel like they have been robbed."

Root said his own bowling performance "sums up the wicket", while former Australian international Mark Waugh called the pitch "unacceptable".

But Kohli defended the wicket, saying both sides were let down by their batting, and opener Rohit Sharma insisted there were "no demons" in the pitch.

England great Geoffrey Boycott agreed that his country could not blame the pitch for their humiliating defeat.

"There is nothing in the rules that says what type of pitch should be prepared," Boycott wrote on Twitter. "We had first choice of the surface and they were better than us. Simple."

The fourth Test begins March 4 at the same venue.