Former Pakistan cricketer Basit Ali has criticised Indian opener Yashasvi Jaiswal for losing his wicket cheaply in the second innings of the first Test against New Zealand at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bengaluru. Jaiswal was dismissed for 35 runs off 52 balls, stumped by Tom Blundell off Ajaz Patel’s bowling. Fans and experts were disappointed due to the poor shot selection.
Basit Ali expressed his views on his YouTube channel, referring to Jaiswal as a “kaccha player” (inexperienced). He admitted that Jaiswal had talent but stressed the need for the young left-hander to focus more on staying at the crease, especially during crucial phases of the cricket match.
“You should have stayed back for your team. You must have learnt this by now. Left-handed batters are far different from right-handed ones. Just see how (Rachin) Ravindra disturbed India’s bowlers even though they are top-class ones. That’s why I am calling you a Kaccha Player. I like you a lot. But, you did what you were not supposed to,” Ali said while addressing Jaiswal.
Basit mentioned that Jaiswal had already gotten out early in the first innings due to challenging conditions. Still, he gave Ajaz Patel his wicket away needlessly in the second innings.
Then, Basit Ali said that Virat Kohli’s batting in the first 4 overs was “shaky”. He said he had never seen Kohli bat like that.
“However, he planned to disturb (New Zealand bowlers) by taking singles and doubles. He started hitting shots when he started timing well. It would have been great if he could score 170 instead of 70,” Ali added.
India, bowled out for just 46 runs in the first innings, fell behind by 356 runs after New Zealand scored 402. Rachin Ravindra’s 134 and Tim Southee’s 65 helped New Zealand gain a solid lead.
India’s fight-back
However, India fought back in the second innings, reaching 231-3 at stumps on Day 3, thanks to a strong 136-run partnership between Virat Kohli and Sarfaraz Khan.
Sarfaraz scored 150 before getting out to Southee. Rishabh Pant was out for 99, missing his century by 1 run. He is joined by KL Rahul. On the rain-affected Day 4, India have taken the lead of 77 runs.
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