Experienced Indian cricket team wicketkeeper-batsman Dinesh Karthik wasn’t happy with how Rohit Sharma played defensively on Day 4 of the first Test match against England on Sunday. When the game resumed with England at 316/6, Ollie Pope ended up making 196 runs, setting India a target of 231. Karthik said India played too cautiously right from the start of the day.
While it’s fine to be careful against Pope, Karthik felt they should have been more aggressive against tail-enders like Tom Hartley, Ravichandran Ashwin, and Ravindra Jadeja to put pressure on them.
“India played too cautiously. It’s okay to be careful against Pope, but they should have put attacking fielders against Hartley, Jadeja, and Ashwin instead of having so many sweepers,” Karthik said on JioCinema.
Former India cricketer Ravi Shastri also felt the same way, saying it’s unfamiliar for Rohit and the team to deal with a visiting side scoring over 400 runs in the third innings.
“The team’s energy seems low. This situation is new for India. You can feel the pressure on the home team. They aren’t used to visiting teams scoring over 400 runs in the third innings,” he said.
Pope scored 196 runs as England finished their second innings at 420 all out on Day 4, leaving India with a target of 231 runs to win the first Test. Fast bowler Jasprit Bumrah took four wickets, including Pope’s, to wrap up England’s innings in the first session in Hyderabad, with the tourists resuming at 316-6.
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England had slipped to 163-5 on Saturday, trailing by 190 runs, but Pope’s century and a 112-run partnership with Ben Foakes helped them recover.
