Rohit Sharma looked defensive and unlike his many preceding innings across all formats, as he was dismissed for 14 off 41 on the first day of the second Test against England. The Indian captain fell to debutant Shoaib Bashir, who picked his first international wicket.
Rohit was out caught at forward short leg as Bashir picked up only his 11th wicket in first-class cricket. The Indian skipper didn’t score a single boundary throughout his stay at the crease and looked apprehensive in his approach.
Former England captain Kevin Pietersen was baffled by Rohit’s outing in the first session, stating that the Indian captain would be “kicking” himself at not grasping the opportunity to put runs on the board. According to Pietersen, the pitch neither tilted much towards spin nor pace and that there were “plenty” of runs 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 JioCinema.
“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.”
Pietersen further said that Shubman Gill, who was aggressive in his short stay at the crease (34 off 48 balls), showed intent. “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,” said the Englishman.
While Rohit and Gill were disappointing with the bat, Yashasvi Jaiswal notched up his third half-century in the longest format and remained unbeaten on 51 in the first session.
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