England opener Ben Duckett admitted that they did not expect Indian openers Rohit Sharma and Yashasvi Jaiswal to come out all guns blazing. He said the duo deserve all the credit for the way they played.
After India withdrew England For just 246 runs, Yashasvi Jaiswal and Rohit Sharma’s opener gave the team a brutal start. They surprised many with their attacking approach and made sure to put pressure on the opposition from the start.
Yashasvi Jaiswal, in particular, attacked the bowlers and smashed them for sixes and fours and played a stellar innings. The young opener targeted debutant Tom Hartley and made his international debut a strange one.
Captain Rohit Sharma also played a crucial innings at the top as he looked solid and supported his partner well. The Indian captain played some magnificent shots but could not convert the start he got as he died while trying to attack the bowlers.
Yashasvi Jaiswal and Rohit Sharma added 80 runs for the opening partnership in 13 overs and approached the game as a T20I. While the captain perished after scoring 24 runs, Jaiswal raised his fifty in just 47 balls which surprised the rival.
Ben Duckett, while talking about the conditions, praised the positive approach of Yashasvi Jaiswal and Rohit Sharma. He added that they didn’t think hitters played this way. Speaking to talkSPORT, he explained:
“It has been going around a lot since day one. We could have easily had three or four [wickets] there tonight and it could have been very different. The way they played at the top was quite positive and that’s fair play to them. I don’t think we necessarily thought they were going to come out and play like that, but Stokesy led us to what we think was an above-average score.“
Ben Duckett praised captain Ben Stokes for his half-century and said he did a great job to take them to 246. He praised the positive approach of the Indian batsmen and added that the conditions were difficult. He explained:
“It was a pretty good day. I thought we were very happy there, being eliminated for who we were. I thought Stokesy was magnificent. We found it quite difficult and I think, to be honest, they played well and very positively tonight. It’s hard work against that attack, and I think we grafted very well today… when the ball turns like that on the first day, it can be quite difficult..”
You’ve got to give them credit: Ben Duckett on Yashasvi Jaiswal and Rohit Sharma
Ben Duckett further pointed out that Indian players do not usually play attacking cricket. He believes they did it because they believed the playing field would get worse. Speaking to reporters, he explained:
“You have to give them credit: they played very well tonight and were very offensive, which is positive. “They don’t always do it that way, so doing it that way shows that they probably think the tone is going to get a little worse.”
On the first day, India were 119/1 and are 127 runs behind England’s score. Yashasvi Jaiswal is batting with unbeaten 76 runs while Shubman Gill was unbeaten with 14.