ENG vs IND: Don't Think Jasprit Bumrah Got His Tactics Right - Kevin Pietersen

Former England cricketer Kevin Pietersen was not happy with India’s stand-in skipper Jasprit Bumrah’s captaincy on the fourth day of the rescheduled fifth Test at Edgbaston in Birmingham.

India were bowled out for 245 in the second innings with the fifties from Cheteshwar Pujara (66) and Rishabh Pant (57) setting England a humungous target of 378.

England openers Alex Lees (56) and Zak Crawley (46) laid the foundation for the potential record chase with their opening stand of 107. The duo had a clear intent of scoring runs at pace as England reached 100 in 20 overs.

It took a nip backer from Jasprit Bumrah to crash into Crawley’s defence and break the threatening stand just before the tea break. Bumrah wasn’t done and dismissed Ollie Pope on the first ball of the third session of the day. Pope tickled Bumrah’s angling delivery behind the stumps and departed for a nought. In the next over, Lees was run out in a mix-up with Joe Root, the latter was at the fault for his misjudged call.

Joe Root, Jonny Bairstow resurrect England innings after Jasprit Bumrah’s show

Root in alliance with Jonny Bairstow brought the hosts back into the game as England didn’t lose any wicket further in the day. Root and Bairstow held their nerves and played the conventional shots, which wasn’t even relating to the profound Bazball theory. The duo stitched 150 runs for the fourth wicket as England are 119 runs away from breaking numerous records in the red-ball format.

Don’t think Jasprit Bumrah got his tactics right: Kevin Pietersen

Pietersen, who played 104 Tests for England, pointed out a few field placements Bumrah had when Root and Bairstow were plundering with singles to ease the pressure.

“I don’t think Bumrah got his tactics right today (July 4) at all, and I say that with the greatest deal of respect,” Pietersen said on Sky Sports after the fourth day’s play. 

“There is no way with a reverse swinging ball that he should make it that easy for the batter, because the batter is trying so hard to decipher which way that ball is swinging. When it’s reverse swinging at 90mph, the nicest place to bat is at the non-striker’s end, and the ability to get to the non-striker’s end as easily as they did this afternoon, it’s too easy. 

“They had long off and long on, and that was pure madness. For half an hour that was pure madness. Even for the last 15-20 minutes of the day’s play, pull them right in, say ‘Jonny, if you’re good enough to hit me over the head, please do it,'” he added. 

The final day of the fifth Test will be intriguing to watch as a draw would be the least possible result for this enthralling contest.

Also Read: ENG vs IND: Jasprit Bumrah Breaks Kapil Dev’s 40-Year-Old Record In The Fifth Test Against England