Cricketer-turned-commentators Kevin Pietersen and Ravi Shastri chastised Ravichandran Ashwin for his lack of intent near the end of the second innings following Shubman Gill’s magnificent century in Vizag. The Tamil Nadu all-rounder did not contribute much to the team’s performance, as India managed to score only 28 runs in the closing session of Day 3.
In the second, Shubman Gill scored his maiden century for India at No. 3, propelling the home team to 211 for four. However, in a space of only 49 deliveries, India lost three quick wickets: Gill, Axar Patel, and KS Bharat. The Rohit Sharma-led team set England a target of 399 runs, which no team has ever successfully pursued in the fourth innings of a Test against India.
Speaking on-air during the closing session of Day 3, Kevin Pietersen urged Ravichandran Ashwin to maintain the momentum and put pressure on England’s bowling attack. The former England skipper was perplexed by the all-rounder’s lack of intent.
“The innings is going absolutely nowhere. India are bossing the game, they are well ahead in the game, but they have made the game stand still,” Kevin Pietersen said.
Ravichandran Ashwin scored 29 runs off 61 balls in the second innings, failing to be aggressive against the English team. Ravi Shastri agreed with Pietersen, believing that Ashwin should play with a greater desire to keep the scoreboard ticking.
“It was difficult to understand, If you look at where they were at Tea, India should have aimed at 430-440. Instead, they came out and did not keep the scoreboard moving,” Ravi Shastri said.
Kevin Pietersen held the same belief similar to other cricket experts. Despite believing that India won the overall match in Vizag, he felt the hosts could have done more damage to England, with Ashwin squandering a golden opportunity with the bat to score big runs for the side.
“Day 3 belonged to India. They did waste their opportunities though. I don’t know what Ashwin was doing with the tail. They were 211 for four before being bowled out for 255. So they wasted the opportunity of drilling England. If they could have gone over 400 or 450, it would have been 100 percent a result for India,” Kevin Pietersen added.
KS Bharat, Kuldeep Yadav, and Jasprit Bumrah did little to disturb the scoring, while Ravichandran Ashwin scored 29 off 61 before falling to Rehan Ahmed. R Ashwin and Jasprit Bumrah combined to score 26 runs. The Men in Blue were bowled out for 255 runs in the second innings.
