Dinesh Karthik is of the opinion that Team India captain Rohit Sharma made a strategic error by allowing his bowlers to set a defensive field for England’s lower-order batsmen in the recently concluded Test series opener in Hyderabad. Rohit Sharma‘s captaincy was quite questionable on Day 4 which somewhat helped the Britishers.
England posted a formidable total of 420 runs in their second innings, with Ollie Pope being the standout performer with a score of 196, thus setting a target of 231 runs for India. The likes of Yashasvi Jaiswal got into the shell by playing defensive cricket which put enormous pressure on the No.3 batter Shubman Gill who once again was dismissed cheaply.
Rohit Sharma needs to push the bowlers- Dinesh Karthik
Dinesh Karthik expressed his belief that India facilitated England by not having sufficient fielders in aggressive positions. Advising Sharma to steer clear of repeating the same error in the second Test, the former cricketer-commentator conveyed his thoughts to Cricbuzz,
“India definitely didn’t bowl well. The one thing Rohit Sharma needs to do in the next Test is not accept whatever the bowler is setting in terms of field. A lot of the times I’ve seen bowlers sometimes try to be more defensive than they need to be. He needs to push the bowlers to set slightly attacking fields, at least to the opponent bowlers and batters who have just walked in,”
“Rohit Sharma needs to understand that in Test cricket, just like his batting, he needs to attack and show intent with the ball as well. A No. 9 or No. 10 batter can’t come on a turning pitch and take singles easily. He shouldn’t be allowing that. That is the time to buck up, and that’s an area they missed with the ball.” added Dinesh Karthik.
India faced a defeat as they were bowled out for 202 on Day 4, with debutant spinner Tom Hartley securing a seven-wicket haul. England claimed a remarkable 28-run victory, taking a 1-0 lead in the five-match series.
Shreyas Iyer is someone who can take on the off-spinner blindfolded and hit boundaries- Dinesh Karthik
Dinesh Karthik expressed that Shreyas Iyer is currently under immense pressure, preventing him from playing his natural game. Iyer managed scores of 35 and 13 runs in the recent Hyderabad Test against England.
Karthik noted that Shreyas Iyer’s strength lies in his ability to counter-attack spinners, but he wasn’t able to execute that approach in the recently concluded first Test. Elaborating on the same, the Indian wicket-keeper said,
“The courage to play the big shot (was missing). He is someone who can take on the off-spinner blindfolded and hit boundaries. But you can see this is what pressure, lack of runs, and to an extent, confidence and playing for a place in the side—all of this put together, I get what each Indian top-order batter is going through,”
Shreyas Iyer has faced criticism for his inconsistent performances in red-ball cricket, amassing 755 runs from 13 Tests at an average of 37.75.
Shreyas Iyer’s scores in his last 11 innings in test cricket are 13, 35, 4*, 0, 6, 31, 26, 0, 4, 12, 29*.