'Virat Kohli missed a trick': VVS Laxman 'surprised' with India captain's decision of not bowling Hardik Pandya

VVS Laxman believed Virat Kohli should have thought of throwing the ball to Hardik Pandya instead of going back to Krunal Pandya and Kuleep Yadav when set batsmen Ben Stokes and Jonny Bairstow were dismissed.

Former India cricketer VVS Laxman said he was ‘surprised’ not to see Hardil Pandya bowl in the 2nd ODI against England in Pune and added that India captain Virat Kohli ‘missed a trick’.

Virat Kohli did not give the ball to Hardik Pandya in 2nd ODI against England(REUTERS)

England openers Jonny Bairstow and Jason Roy put on century stand to give the visitors’ a great chase and then Bairstow and Ben Stokes carried on the good work to leave India with no chance whatsoever to pull things back.

Bairstow slammed 124 and Stokes scored blistering 99 as England chased down the 337-run target in just 44.3 overs with six wickets still in the bank.

There was, however, a brief moment in the match, where it looked that India might be able to stage comeback when both Stokes and Bairstow fell in quick succession. It was then that Laxman believed Kohli should have thought of throwing the ball to Hardik Pandya instead of going back to Krunal and Kuleep Yadav, who were having an off day.

"It was very difficult at the time. Because they just had around 30-35 runs to get, even though you got the wicket of Jonny Bairstow and Jos Buttler. Prasidh Krishna came back and took two wickets, but I was a little surprised that Virat Kohli again went to Krunal Pandya and Kuldeep Yadav. If at all, India had to pull back the game, it was through the fast bowlers. So, I thought Virat missed a trick there. But overall, unbelievable onslaught this of the highest quality. The power quality was unbelievable. The carnage of Jonny Bairstow and Jos Buttler will be remembered for quite a long time,” Laxman said on Star Sports.

Laxman said both the spinners Krunal and Kuldeep had not picked up a wicket and they were under a lot of pressure.

"I was little surprised why Hardik Pandya did not bowl. Because you know Kuldeep Yadav and Krunal Pandya were under pressure from both the batsmen from both ends. You wanted to break that monotony. That's why I was surprised he was not even given 4-5overs. I know it is important to manage his workload, but winning this match is as important as managing his workload,” Laxman said.

Interestingly, Pandya who had bowled in every match of the T20I series, has not yet bowled in the ODIs. Laxman said it is very important to have a sixth bowler in the line-up as it breaks the pattern.

"It definitely does (not having the 6th bowler for India made a difference). Because you have to break the pattern. You can't always go back to Shardul, or Prasidh, or Bhuvneshwar. And whenever you were going back to Kuldeep or Krunal, the England batsmen were going hammer and tongs.

"So, that's where you need a 6th bowler. And he (Hardik) bowled so well in the 6th over. He was not only restricting runs, he was picking wickets. He gave away 16 runs and picked two wickets. I was a little surprised Virat did not mix around his bowlers. And he kept giving the ball to Kuldeep, who looked low on confidence. It is something India should think about for Sunday," he said.