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Sunil Gavaskar counters Kevin Pietersen in intense commentary box debate over IND vs ENG 1st Test pitch
Gavaskar and Pietersen had an intense debate over the nature of the Hyderabad pitch during the India vs England 1st Test.
Legendary India cricketer Sunil Gavaskar and former England captain Kevin Pietersen had an intense debate in the commentary box over the nature of the pitch at the Rajiv Gandhi Stadium in Hyderabad. The first India vs England Test match has been a great advert of Test cricket so far. Wickets have fallen at regular intervals, the batters ready to play shots have got rewards and the match has moved on at a fast pace. Much of the credit for that must go to the surface.
That this pitch is not like the ones England got in Ahmedabad when they toured here in 2021 was evident when Jasprit Bumrah's first three deliveries were collected over the shoulders by India keeper KS Bharat on Day 1. Good carry meant the batters could for their shots and so they did. The England openers Zak Crawley and Ben Duckett scored at nearly five runs an over for the first 10 overs before spin came into the picture.
Ravichandran Ashwin got Duckett LBW in his second over. Ravindra Jadeja induced the outside of Ollie Pope's bat and Crawley chipped an Ashwin delivery to mid-off. From 55/0, England were 60/3.
At least two deliveries in Jadeja's first over spun past the right-hander's defensive push. That is where Pietersen had a problem. "Look at the way Jadeja's first two deliveries turned. That's Day 1 of a Test match. The ball shouldn't be turning that much," he said in commentary during the last session of Day 2.
‘Can’t expect the ball to go through straight in Test cricket': Gavaskar
Gavaskar was quick to counter the former England batter. The former India captain said most of the England batters got out because of poor technique; the pitch hardly had anything to do with it. Gavaskar also added that teams should expect the ball to turn from Day 1 when they come to India.
"It's not as if the ball was spinning and bouncing, look at the dismissals. Crawly caught at mid-on, Root out sweeping. All the other batters... the technique was not good. It wasn't turning and bouncing that much. When you play Test cricket and are coming to India, you have to expect the ball to turn from Day 1. You can't expect the ball to go straight through," said the former opening batter.
Pietersen then said it had to do with the difference in the amount of turn that Indian and England's spinners got. "Of course, it is expected to spin. The difference between the two teams has been the amount of spin the spinners from the two sides have got.
The duo ended the discussion with a laugh when Gavaskar agreed that it is very difficult for even the best of commentators to stay 100% neutral.
India's spinners - Ashwin, Jadeja, and Axar - shared eight wickets among them to bowl England out for 246. But the visitors spinners, however, failed to replicate it. Jack Leach, Tom Hartley and Rehan Ahmed leaked runs and it was Joe Root who turned out to be the saviour.
The concerns over the pitch were erased when India put on 436 in their first innings with three of their batters getting past the 80-run mark.
