Former Indian cricketer Aakash Chopra expressed his disappointment with Rohit Sharma’s captaincy during the first day of the fourth Test match against England. Aakash Chopra stated that Rohit Sharma underutilized wrist spinner Kuldeep Yadav on the opening day.
England captain Ben Stokes opted to bat first at the JSCA International Stadium Complex. Debutant pacer Akash Deep ran through England’s top order and picked up three wickets in his first spell. He dismissed Ben Duckett, Ollie Pope and Zak Crawley with the new ball.
Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja took a wicket each to restrict England to 112/5 in the first session. However, they were not effective in the remaining two sessions. Joe Root scored a brilliant hundred to help the team cross the 300-run mark on Day 1.
Kuldeep Yadav could have been released a little earlier – Aakash Chopra
During a discussion at Colors Cineplex, Aakash Chopra mentioned that Kuldeep Yadav came in late in the bowling attack. The former Indian opener emphasized that Yadav should have been used earlier in the game.
“It’s true, you have a lot of options to choose from when you have five players. Sometimes you get confused when you go to a buffet. Kuldeep Yadav turned up 100% late. They could have released it a little earlier,” Chopra said.
Ashwin and Jadeja bowled 49 overs of 90 on the opening day. Kuldeep Yadav went wicketless in his 10 overs. Mohammed Siraj’s reverse swing in the final session proved pivotal, dismissing Ben Foakes and Tom Hartley and putting India in a commanding position.
You go to them first – Aakash Chopra
The former India opener acknowledges that Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja were preferred over Kuldeep Yadav considering their experience. Chopra highlighted Ashwin’s 500-wicket tally and Jadeja’s Player of the Match accolade in the last game.
“However, when you stick with your fast bowlers at one end for a long time, it is a rotation policy at the other end. In that rotation policy, one has taken more than 500 wickets and the other is the Man of the Match of the last game, so you go to them first,” Chopra said.
Ravindra Jadeja claimed all three wickets in the first session of the second day to eliminate the opposition team. Ollie Robinson was caught attempting a reverse sweep shot, while Shoaib Bashir and James Anderson were sent off without increasing their scores.
The team led by Ben Stokes scored 353 runs in their first innings. The visiting team lost their last three wickets for just six runs on the second day. Joe Root emerged as the team’s top scorer, scoring an unbeaten 122 runs with the help of 10 fours.
In response, the hosts fought back with the bat against the English bowling attack. James Anderson drew first blood by dismissing Rohit Sharma. Shoaib Bashir picked up the next four wickets including Yashasvi Jaiswal. Tom Hartley dismissed Sarfaraz Khan for 14 runs.
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