Former cricketer Kevin Pietersen is disappointed with Rohit Sharma’s dismissal during the first innings of the second Test on Friday, February 2 at the Dr. Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy ACA-VDCA Cricket Stadium in Visakhapatnam. The Indian skipper was dismissed cheaply in the innings.
Rohit Sharma won the toss and opted to bat first. He opened the innings along with Yashasvi Jaiswal. While Jaiswal looked in good touch, Rohit struggled to get going. He was dismissed for 14 runs from 41 deliveries. In the eighteenth over of the Indian innings, Shoaib Bashir bowled outside the off-stump. The ball spun in sharply as Rohit tried to glance it away. However, he was surprised by the pace and the turn.
The ball took the edge and went towards the backward square fielder. Ollie Pope took a good catch to send the Indian spinner back to the pavilion. Talking about the dismissal, Kevin Pietersen expressed surprise over Rohit Sharma’s lazy approach. He said,
“It doesn’t matter who you get out to, you can get out to anybody. I think he’d (Rohit Sharma) 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?'”
“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.
There was a lack of intensity in Rohit: Kevin Pietersen
Kevin Pietersen further praised Shubman Gill’s intent at the crease. The Indian batter failed to build on the start that he got but scored at a good clip. He scored 34 runs with five boundaries at a strike rate of 73.91. On the other hand, Rohit Sharma just had a strike rate of 34.15. Kevin Pietersen expressed that Rohit’s innings lacked intent. He said,
“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.”
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