Former England batsman Kevin Pietersen refused to blame the pitch for England’s 10-wicket loss in the third Test in Ahmedabad which was a D/N affair against India. On a surface that spun from day one, England was bowled out for 112 and 81, while India made 145 and 49 to win the match in under 2 days.
While the majority of former England and some Indian players slamming the pitch for being unsuitable for Test cricket, given that it spun so much that Akshar Patel picked 11 and R Ashwin picked 7 wickets in the match.
However, Kevin Pietersen set the record straight and said that batting from both India and England was atrocious on a turning track and no one should blame the pitch as the demons were in the head of the batsmen.
He asked English batsmen to be "honest with themselves" and acknowledge that their batting was "dreadful" in both innings of the newly named Narendra Modi stadium.
"I hope there are some England batters waking up this morning and being honest with themselves at least, by acknowledging their batting was dreadful on that wicket?! I've heard Virat & Rohit say theirs was," Pietersen tweeted.
After the end of the match, Kohli and Rohit both admitted that the wicket in Ahmedabad was a good track to bat on while admitting that their lack of application saw them struggle on Thursday as India was bowled out for 145 in their first innings.
17 wickets fell on Day 2 of the third Test, with even Joe Root claiming his maiden five-wicket haul (5/8), and even he said that him getting a five-wicket haul says a lot about the surface.
Furthermore, Kevin Pietersen took to Instagram and posted a video giving his take on the pitch, saying that the surface was not dangerous, but the batting from both sides was poor. Both teams will meet at the same venue for the fourth and final Test of the series, starting March 4.
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"All I am going to say is that the batting was dreadful and awful from both teams. I think if they are honest with themselves, they will admit they batted poorly. 21 of the 30 dismissals came from straight deliveries. There was nothing dangerous on the wicket, there just needed to be better batting. With better batting, this would have gone to Day 3, maybe Day 4," Pietersen said.
