Former England captain Kevin Pietersen was criticial of India skipper Rohit Sharma‘s batting approach in the ongoing second Test in Visakhapatnam. Rohit was dismissed for 14 by England spinner Shoaib Bashir in the first session on Day 1. Debutant Bashir broke through in the second over after the drinks break to get Rohit caught out at leg-slip on a delivery that turned sharply into the right-hander, and the youngster roared in celebration. Pietersen feels Rohit must be “kicking himself” for getting out on pitch were “plenty” of runs were on offer.
“It doesn’t matter who you get out to, you can get out to anybody. I think he’d be kicking himself because there were plenty of runs to be had here. On this wicket, against a very young and inexperienced bowling attack, he will be looking at his dismissal and thinking, ‘How on earth did I get myself out here?’,” Pietersen told the broadcasters.
Pietersen feels Rohit, who faced 41 balls and did not hit a boundary, missed the opportunity to put runs on the board, labelling his dismissal as “quite lazy”.
“That (the dismissal) was quite lazy. Yes, it is instinctive to knock the ball towards the leg side. But there was no urgency in what led to the dismissal. There was no urgency to try and get off the strike. These guys are expansive from ball one in T20 cricket, they play so beautifully. We have not seen huge spin, massive bounce, or anything that should pose any fear in the batter’s mind,” he added.
Pietersen signed off by praising Shubman Gill, who showed intent during his knock of 34 from 46 balls.
“Gill played nicely, I thought. There was an intensity in him. There was a lack of intensity in Rohit; it looked like his innings was in slow motion,” Pietersen further explained.
While Rohit and Gill failed to score big knocks, opener Yashasvi Jaiswal hit his second Test century to put India in control.
Jaiswal (125 not out) struck a high-quality hundred to push India to 225 for three at Tea on Day 1.
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