Michael Vaughan has come down hard on Rohit Sharma for not being proactive when he captained India in their opening Test against England at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Hyderabad.
Vaughan said Rohit’s captaincy was “average” and that the Indian skipper was clueless when Ollie Pope played sweeps and reverse sweeps at will.
On Saturday 28 January, Ollie Pope scored 196 runs as England beat the hosts by 28 runs took a 1-0 lead in the 5-game series. Although it was his attempt at a reverse shot off Jasprit Bumrah that led to his downfall, Pope had already done quite a bit of damage by then.
“I thought Rohit Sharma’s captaincy was very, very average. I thought he was so reactive, I don’t think he maneuvered his pitch or was proactive with his bowling changes. And he had no answer to Ollie Pope’s runs or reversals. sweeps,” Vaughan wrote in his column for The Telegraph.
Should India have done something different? Vaughan answers
Vaughan said India should have changed tactics when Pope and the rest of England’s batsmen were suffocating their bowlers with ease.
The veteran also mentioned that Rohit should have used more attacking fields and asked the England batsmen to go over the top.
“The greatest spinner I’ve ever seen, Shane Warne, came around the wicket and got the player to sweep the leg side and say good luck trying that. I’ve never seen anything like that in India.”
“It was almost too easy. The way England play, they will always give boundaries. And by spreading the field, Sharma said that the best balls from his bowlers would still go for one,” he added.
Meanwhile, Pope won the Man of the Match award after England handed India their first Test defeat in Hyderabad.
After England were reduced to 163 for 5 in the second innings, Pope and Ben Foakes put on 112 runs for the sixth wicket. Pope was the last wicket to go down as England set India a target of 231 to chase.
The Three Lions bowled out India for 202 in 69.2 overs to set up a memorable victory.
Image Source: Cricket Addictor
