Former Pakistan captain Inzamam-Ul-Haq has on Thursday (August 26) slammed the Indian batters for not showing any intent to score and put any pressure on the England bowlers whatsoever on the opening day of the ongoing third Test at Headingley, Leeds.
He was particularly critical of Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli for the way the senior duo went about their business on the Day 1 of the ongoing third Test against England at Headingley.
After winning the toss, captain Kohli decided to bat first and the call backfired, as the Indian cricket team bowled out for their lowest Test total 78 against England since being dismissed for 42 at Lord's in 1974 on Wednesday at Headingley, Leeds.
The legendary Pakistan batsman has pointed out that once a batsman has played 25 to 30 balls, his hand and eye coordination should be in sync and they should be able to read the pitch and try to score runs, but both Kohli and Rohit failed miserably and left many disappointed.
He also mentioned that Rohit should have taken the responsibility and scored runs for his team as he had already spent a lot of time at the crease having faced 105 balls, but eventually fell to the pull shot for just 19 against England in Leeds on Wednesday.
Inzamam said on his YouTube channel, “The Indian batters never put any pressure (on the bowlers). As a cricketer, whatever the nature of the pitch is, whether there is swing or spin, if you have played 25-30 balls, your eyes, your eye coordination, your hand coordination, all these get accustomed to the pitch.”
He further added, “You have to take some chances after that. Like Rohit Sharma, he played 105 balls. You can’t say that you are not set after playing 105 balls. You have to take responsibility and you have to play your strokes.”
On Kohli, who was dismissed for 7 off 17 balls by James Anderson, Inzamam said: “Virat Kohli too played 31 balls. But what did he do? He made 7 runs, and he was completely tied up.”
He also believes that India should have bowled first at Headingley after winning the toss to destroy England’s batting and put them under tremendous pressure in the third Test as the hosts were already coming off from an embarrassing defeat at Lord’s.
The former Pakistan captain explained, “(England are) a team that you had defeated some days before. In the fourth innings, on a dry pitch, you made them absolutely flat. You destroyed their batting. If you have won the toss here, put them into bat again.”
Inzamam signed off by saying, “With the advantage of two hours (of moisture), I won’t say that England would have been all out for 78, but they wouldn’t have scored big.”
