Former Pakistani skipper Inzamam-ul-Haq has slammed Indian skipper Virat Kohli and opener Rohit Sharma for their defensive approach and for not showing any intent to score runs on the opening day of the third Test match against England.
The former cricketer expressed his disappointment by pointing out how the two leading Indian batsmen went about their business on Day 1. He also pointed out how Rohit Sharma was well set before he was dismissed cheaply after giving a solid start yet again.
Though Sharma started off brilliantly and survived all the initial bursts from the England pacers and looked set after facing 105 balls. However, all the hard work of 105 balls went into the drain as he couldn’t get going and fell to the pull shot, once again, after scoring only 19 runs.
In his latest YouTube channel, The Match Winner, Inzamam-ul-Haq expressed his disappointment and said players have to try and start looking for runs once they are set on-field after spend a reasonable amount of time at the crease. He said:
“The Indian batters never put any pressure on the bowlers. As a cricketer, whatever the nature of the pitch is, whether there is swing or spin, if you have played 25-30 balls, your eyes, your eye coordination, your hand coordination, all these get accustomed to the pitch,”
He added:
“You have to take some chances after that. Like Rohit Sharma, he played 105 balls. You can’t say that you are not set after playing 105 balls. You have to take responsibility and you have to play your strokes.”
The former Pakistani skipper was also critical of the Indian skipper for digging himself into a hole before getting out cheaply. He said:
“Virat Kohli too played 17 balls. But what did he do? He made 7 runs, and he was completely tied up,”
Rohit Sharma has an inner Viv Richards and an inner Geoff Boycott in him
— Cricketwallah (@cricketwallah) August 25, 2021
Further, Inzamam-ul-Haq said that Virat should have bowled first at Headingley after winning the toss instead of electing to bat first. He said:
“(England are) a team that you had defeated some days before. In the fourth innings, on a dry pitch, you made them absolutely flat. You destroyed their batting. If you have won the toss here, put them into bat again.”
The former Pakistan captain believes team India would have been able to get rid of them cheaply had England was sent to bat first. He said:
“With the advantage of two hours (of moisture), I won’t say that England would have been all out for 78, but they wouldn’t have scored big,”
