"That's why he..." - Kevin Pietersen accuses Ravichandran Ashwin of blindly chasing milestone

Former England National Cricket Team batsman Kevin Pietersen has come down hard on the India National Cricket Team veteran off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin following the second Test match of the five-match series between India and England at the Dr. Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy ACA-VDCA Cricket Stadium, Visakhapatnam.

Pietersen has accused Ashwin of blindly chasing the 500-wicket milestone in Test cricket. The England batting great opined that Ashwin was not able to bowl as well as he could have because his entire focus shifted to achieving the huge milestone.

Ashwin was on the verge of entering the record books in the second Test as he was just four wickets away from the 500 Test wickets milestone. It was expected that he would easily reach the feat, but it didn’t happen as he was taken to the cleaners in the first innings and went wicketless.

Ravichandran Ashwin, however, bounced back strong in the second innings and took three wickets. He almost got his 500th Test wicket by dismissing Tom Hartley, but the decision was overturned after the English player took a review.

Ravichandran Ashwin will have to wait more to accomplish the milestone and he will have the opportunity to do that when India take on England in the third Test match from February 15 at the Saurashtra Cricket Association Stadium, Rajkot.

Ashwin was just chasing milestone – Kevin Pietersen

Speaking after the conclusion of the second Test between India and England, Kevin Pietersen claimed that Ashwin didn’t bowl well because he was chasing he milestone.

“Ashwin was just chasing milestone. That’s why he didn’t bowl as well as he could have bowled. He did get it right on occasions. I thought he was way more threatening bowling wider outside off-stump round the wicket. I think he bowled over the wicket way too much to the right-handers. He can change bowling over-bowling around-bowling over more,” Pietersen told official broadcasters after India’s 106-run win over England on Monday.

Kevin Pietersen further said that Ashwin is a tremendous bowler and once he gets one more wicket to complete 500 Test wickets, he will get relaxed and perform even better.

“I’m certainly never going to say that he hasn’t got it or the England bowlers have found him out. He is a tremendous bowler and he’s got some big breakthroughs. It is about the team; it’s not about the individual. He will want one more wicket and when he gets that may you’ll see him a lot more relaxed, the shoulder drops and I can just now get on with the game,” added the former England batter.

Although Ravichandran Ashwin was not able to deliver the performance that was expected from him, India still managed to register a humongous victory in the match. The Rohit Sharma & Co. hammered the Ben Stokes-led side by 106 runs to level the series 1-1, heading into the third game.

The chief architect behind the victory of the Indian team was the premier pacer Jasprit Bumrah, who showcased sheer class and registered exceptional bowling figures of 6/45 & 3/46 in the match.