With 332 still to get, India had a lot to play with on Day four of the second Test at Vizag. And hence, it was surprising for former England cricketer Kevin Pietersen to see India captain Rohit Sharma get on the defensive.
Pietersen questioned why is ‘long-on back?’ And he said this while Ravichandran Ashwin was bowling. The ex-English cricketer asked why is Rohit being so defensive so early. Pietersen was just not happy with India’s approach despite being on top in the Test match. He said this while Rehan Ahmed was in the middle. Pietersen said Rohit should look to keep Rehan on strike.
Soon after this comment by Pietersen, Rehan was leg-before wicket by Axar Patel for 23. After that setback, in came Ollie Pope and a lot was expected from him. Unfortunately, he did not last long, as he departed for 23 off 21 balls. Ashwin got the prized scalp of Pope. Rohit took a sharp catch at first slip. At the time of filing the copy, India needed seven more wickets to win, while the England side still need 248 to win.
Previously, riding on Shubman Gill’s third Test century, and some important contributions from Axar Patel and Ashwin, India’s second innings ended at 255 in 78.3 overs. Gill got a few slices of luck early on and made it count by slamming 104 off 147 balls, his first Test century as a number three batter.
With 14 overs left in the day on Sunday, Duckett and Crawley took two boundaries each off Mukesh Kumar, though Bumrah got the new ball to talk and ask questions of the openers. Crawley was quick to slog-sweep Kuldeep Yadav for six, followed by Duckett taking two fours off him via sweeps.