Former Indian cricketer Aakash Chopra has opined that England cannot blame the pitch for their poor first-inning batting performance in the first Test against India. The Ben Stokes-led side struggled to show resistance against the quality Indian spin bowling on the opening day, resulting in the loss of wickets.
England started well as they batted first, with openers Zak Crawley and Ben Duckett putting up 55 runs for the opening wicket. Joe Root and Jonny Bairstow then added 61 runs for the fourth wicket, but later, Jadeja and Axar Patel’s bowling reduced England to 155/7. Captain Ben Stokes (70 off 88) then partnered with the lower order to help his team score 246 in 64.3 overs.
Speaking on his YouTube Channel, Aakash Chopra feels that England cannot make too many complaints about the pitch in Hyderabad, He believes that the Indian spinners made the most out of the conditions, which resulted in the Ben Stokes-led side posting a total that is below par and thinks that England cannot blame the pitch entirely for their performance.
“246 runs were scored. I went alongside Anil Kumble and had a look at the pitch at Tea. I said – ‘the pitch is alright’. It wasn’t a dust bowl. It’s a spin-friendly pitch. It’s probably not a first-day but a second-day pitch. However, neither was the pitch crumbling nor was it too dry.
“It’s a decent pitch. Of course, India’s spin-bowling quality is very good. But in my opinion, don’t blame the pitch at all. Your batting didn’t have the might at all. It wasn’t a 246-run pitch. It was a 350-run pitch at least, which you didn’t score,” Aakash Chopra said.
On the first day of the Test, Ashwin and Jadeja claimed three wickets each at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Hyderabad on Thursday. Left-arm spinner Axar also took two wickets, including the crucial wicket of Jonny Bairstow (37) to break the crucial partnership in the match.
The Captain Needs To Bat Slightly Up The Order – Aakash Chopra
Aakash Chopra also questioned Ben Stokes’ batting position in the England team, stating that he needs to be more responsible and urged him to bat up slightly higher for the team.
“If you see Test cricket worldwide, you don’t see a pure batter at No. 6. You will either see a wicketkeeper or an all-rounder at No. 6. You can keep saying anything, Ben Stokes is not bowling at the moment. He has nearly 200 wickets in Test cricket but is currently playing as a batter.”
“Batting at No. 6 implies you have Ben Foakes with you very quickly and after that, just the tail. In my opinion, that’s not right. You don’t have accountability of getting out at No. 6. The captain needs to bat slightly up the order to fight this battle,” Aakash Chopra added.
The Indian spinners once again showed their worth in the home conditions on the opening day. Ben Stokes took charge at a crucial moment of the innings point as he formed key partnerships with lower-order batters such as Rehan Ahmed, Tom Hartley, and Mark Wood, assisting England to a decent first-innings total.
