Kevin Pietersen knows a thing or two about India. While the other batsmen from his country have failed to perform on the turning pitches, Pietersen’s record in India is very impressive.The former England batsman played an important role in his team’s historic series triumph in India four year ago. He scored 338 runs on that tour including a majestic 186 in Mumbai that set the tone for the visitors to win the series 2-1, after losing the first match of the series.
England will once again lock horns against India in a five-match Test series and Pietersen has given his insights about the Indian conditions. In-form Ravichandran Ashwin will undoubtedly be a big threat to England’s and Pietersen revealed how he tackled the off-spinner during the 2012 series.
Speaking to ‘The Cricketer’ he said: “Ashwin is a good bowler. He uses his variations very well, especially the way he approaches the crease. He’s always looking to attacking and outfox a batsman.”
“When I’ve played against him, I could pick his doosra, so I was OK. But if England’s batsmen can’t pick his doosra they’ll have issues. I was always looking to smash his off-spinner. The low bounce might make it harder, but that’s part of the challenge of playing in India,” he added.
After the demoralising defeat against Bangladesh in the Dhaka Test, there are speculations all around that the English batsmen might find it tough to counter the Indian spinners. When Pietersen was asked about how the batsmen should approach their innings in India, he said: “Batsmen have got to find themselves a boundary option in India. It’s all about rotating the strike and manoeuvring the field. I was OK in India. I enjoyed it there. I made plenty of hundreds there.”
Meanwhile, when Pietersen was asked to compare his compatriot Joe Root and India’s Test skipper Virat Kohli, he said:“Kohli is as good as it gets. He is right up there. Root has good numbers, but it’s unfair to even compare Joe with Virat because his numbers are just phenomenal. He plays so aggressively – sometimes it’s like – are you serious? The way he makes big runs for his team so often is just remarkable.”
Heaping praise on the Indian batting sensation, Pietersen said:“I switched on the TV and saw him play that 85 not out at Dharamsala (against New Zealand) – goodness, that was amazing. He just has that ability to rotate the strike and find boundaries. His ODI record is a joke. Such an old head on young-ish shoulders.”