England’s first Test batting outcome against India shouldn’t be blamed on the pitch, says Aakash Chopra.
Batting first in Hyderabad on January 25, England was knocked out at 246. India finished the day nicely at 119/1. Yashasvi Jaiswal was there with an unbeaten 76, alongside Shubman Gill with 14 not out.
As Chopra shared on his YouTube channel, the pitch isn’t responsible for England’s subpar score.
“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
Ben Stokes scored 70 runs, the highest for England. Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja claimed three wickets each. Axar Patel and Jasprit Bumrah, added two more wickets each to their tally.
“You don’t see a pure batter at No. 6” – Aakash Chopra questions Ben Stokes’ batting position
Aakash Chopra questioned Ben Stokes’ batting position, saying:
“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.”
Aakash Chopra
The cricketer-turned-commentator also stated that Stokes should be held more accountable.
“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
Chopra stated that if Ben Stokes scored runs while batting at No. 6, as he did on Thursday, he would be regarded as a lone fighter who did not have much assistance.
Chopra said that the England captain would not be questioned if he did not score runs since he would only have the bottom order for company.