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India’s Ravichandran Ashwin bats during the third day of the second test against England.© BCCI
Former England captain Kevin Pietersen criticized Ravichandran Ashwin’s batting on Day 3 of the second Test against England in Visakhapatnam. While India were in a dominant position in their second innings despite losing many wickets towards the end of the game, Ashwin adopted a defensive mode of batting. He was eventually dismissed for 29 off 61 after beating Rehan Ahmed’s delivery to wicketkeeper Ben Foakes while searching for a forward defence. Pietersen was disappointed with the way Ashwin batted.
“Day 3 belonged to India. However, they wasted their chances. I don’t know what Ashwin was doing with the tail. They got 211 for four before being bowled out for 255. So they wasted the chance to pierce England. If they could have overtaken the 400 or 450, it would have been 100 per cent a result for India,” Pietersen told Jio Cinema at the end of the day’s play, quoted by Hindustan Times.
Shubman Gill took form with a century as India left England with a record victory target of 399 on the third day of the second Test on Sunday.
England, who led the five-match series 1-0, reached 67-1 after opener Ben Duckett fell for 28 in Visakhapatnam.
Left-handed Duckett got into a 50-run attack with fellow opener Zak Crawley, batting on 29, before Ravichandran Ashwin removed him for his 497th Test wicket.
Night watchman Rehan Ahmed, with nine, joined Crawley as England needed another 332 for victory.
The highest fourth innings target successfully pursued against India is England’s 378 at Edgbaston in 2022, and the most successful in India was when the hosts made 387 against England in 2008.
Spinners Tom Hartley and Ahmed combined to bowl India out for 255 after Gill’s 104 on a day of bowling and fielding brilliance.
(With AFP Entries)
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