IND vs ENG: Kevin Pietersen slams Rohit Sharma following his dismissal in second test

Rohit Sharma was dismissed for just 14 runs by debutant Shoaib Bashir in the second test in Vishakhapatnam.

In the ongoing five-match test series between India and England, India are coming-off a defeat in the first test in Hyderabad by 28 runs. In the second test in Visakhapatnam, India won the toss and elected to bat first and made three significant changes to their side, introducing debutant Rajat Patidar, along with Kuldeep Yadav and Mukesh Kumar, to replace injured duo of KL Rahul and Ravindra Jadeja while Mohammed Siraj was left out.

In the second test match between India and England, Rohit Sharma faced criticism from former England batter Kevin Pietersen for his defensive approach at the crease. Sharma was dismissed for just 14 runs off 41 balls on the first day of the second test match which raised eyebrows, especially as he fell to debutant Shoaib Bashir, who secured his first international wicket.

Kevin Pietersen questions Rohit Sharma

Rohit Sharma’s dismissal raised concerns not only for Indian fans but also drew attention from cricket experts. Pietersen was confused at Sharma’s defensive mindset, “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 JioCinema. He emphasized that the pitch neither favored spin nor pace and there were ample opportunities to score runs against an inexperienced English bowling attack.

Pietersen pointed out, “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.” He criticized Sharma’s lack of intensity, contrasting it with Shubman Gill’s aggressive approach, who scored 34 off 48 balls.

The Englishman continued to express his disappointment, stating, “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.” Pietersen underlined the contrast between Gill’s intensity and Rohit’s seemingly slow-motion innings.

Talking about the match, Indian opener Yashasvi Jaiswal has notched up his second century in test cricket. At the time of writing, India are currently batting on 193 with the loss of three wickets after the end of 53 overs. Jaiswal is batting on 116 along with deburant Rajat Patidar. James Anderson, Tom Hartley and Bashir have contributed for England with one wicket apiece.

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