IND vs ENG: Kevin Pietersen slams 'lazy' Rohit Sharma, calls Shubman Gill’s knock better

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IND vs ENG: Kevin Pietersen has slammed Rohit Sharma for the 'lazy' way in which he got out on Day 1 of the second Test against England in Visakhapatnam.

Rohit Sharma opted to bat first on a very good batting surface but got out to 14 after playing a delivery straight into the hands of le slip fielder Ollie Pope. England debutant Shoaib Bashir bowled a delivery which spun back sharply to surprise Rohit Sharma.

“It doesn't matter who you get out to, you can get out to anybody. I think he'd be kicking himself because there were plenty of runs to be had here. On this wicket, against a very young and inexperienced bowling attack, he will be looking at his dismissal and thinking, 'How on earth did I get myself out here?'” Pietersen told JioCinema.

Kevin Pietersen said there was no urgency for Rohit Sharma to play that shot to take a single and get off the strike. He said that the surface was extremely batting friendly and posed no threats to batter of Rohit Sharma's class.

“That (the dismissal) was quite lazy. Yes, it is instinctive to knock the ball towards the leg side. But there was no urgency in what led to the dismissal. There was no urgency to try and get off the strike. These guys are expansive from ball one in T20 cricket, they play so beautifully. We have not seen huge spin, massive bounce, or anything that should pose any fear in the batter's mind.”

Further, the former England captain called Shubman Gill knock more intentful, saying that Rohit Sharma lacked intensity and played very slow to score 14 runs off 41 balls. The 36-year-old did not hit a single boundary. On the other hand, Gill scored 34 off 46 with the help of five boundaries.

“Gill played nicely, I thought. There was an intensity in him. There was a lack of intensity in Rohit; it looked like his innings was in slow motion,” said the Englishman.

India finished Day 1 at 333/6 in 93 overs on the back of 179 unbeaten runs by Yashasvi Jaiswal. Shreyas Iyer (27), Rajat Patidar (32), Axar Patel (27) and KS Bharat (17) got out after getting starts. .