Former England National Cricket Team batsman Kevin Pietersen came down heavily on Indian National Cricket Team veteran Ravichandran Ashwin after the second Test match of the five-match series between India and England at the Dr. YS Rajasekhara Reddy ACA-VDCA Cricket. Stadium, Visakhapatnam.
Pietersen has accused Ashwin of blindly chasing the 500-wicket milestone in Test cricket. The great England batsman opined that Ashwin could not bowl as well as he could because all his focus was on achieving the big milestone.
Ashwin almost entered the record books in the second Test as he was just four wickets away from the milestone of 500 Test wickets. It was expected that he would easily achieve the feat but it did not happen as he was taken to the cleaners in the first innings and he was run out of wicket.
Ravichandran Ashwin, however, came back strongly in the second innings and took three wickets. He almost got his 500th Test wicket by dismissing Tom Hartley, but the decision was overturned after the England player conducted a review.
Ravichandran Ashwin will have to wait longer to achieve the milestone and he will get a chance to do so when India takes on England in the third Test match starting February 15 at the Saurashtra Cricket Association Stadium, Rajkot.
Ashwin was simply chasing a milestone – Kevin Pietersen
Speaking after the conclusion of the second Test between India and England, Kevin Pietersen claimed that Ashwin did not play well because he was chasing his milestone.
“Ashwin was simply chasing a milestone. That’s why he didn’t bowl as well as he could have done. Sometimes he got it right. I thought he was much more threatening bowling wider outside the off stump around the wicket. I think he bowled too much over the wicket towards the right-handers. He can change bowling, bowling, bowling and more,” Pietersen told official broadcasters after India’s 106-run win over England on Monday.
Kevin Pietersen further said that Ashwin is a tremendous bowler and once he gets one more wicket to complete 500 Test wickets, he will relax and perform even better.
“I’m certainly never going to say he doesn’t have it or that the England bowlers figured it out. He is a tremendous bowler and he has great strides. It’s about the team; he is not about the individual. He will want one more wicket and when he gets it you will see him much more relaxed, his shoulder drops and now I can get on with the game,” added the former England player. mass.
Although Ravichandran Ashwin could not deliver the performance expected of him, India managed to register a huge victory in the match. Rohit Sharma & Co. defeated the Ben Stokes-led team by 106 runs to level the series at 1-1, heading into the third game.
The main architect of the Indian team’s victory was leading pacer Jasprit Bumrah, who showed pure class and recorded exceptional bowling figures. 6/45 and 3/46 in the match.