“Rohit Sharma needs to understand that in Test cricket he should attack”:Dinesh Karthik after India loss to England in the 1st Test.

England pulled off a remarkable victory in the opening Test of the five-match series, defeating India by 28 runs on Day 4 at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Hyderabad. Despite trailing by 190 runs in the first innings, England staged a stunning comeback, fueled by a heroic innings from Ollie Pope, who notched 196 runs from 278 deliveries. Debutant Tom Hartley’s impressive figures of 7/62 further contributed to England’s come-from-behind triumph, as India was dismissed for 202 while chasing a target of 230.

A pivotal moment came during the third session on Day 3 when Pope and Ben Foakes solidified England’s position with a 112-run partnership, extending their lead to 85 runs. Throughout this phase and into the morning session on Day 4, India captain Rohit Sharma opted for defensive field placements, inadvertently facilitating Pope’s ability to rotate the strike easily

Reflecting on India’s performance, former cricketer-turned-commentator Dinesh Karthik suggested that Rohit should adopt a more proactive approach as a leader in the upcoming second Test, emphasizing the importance of not allowing bowlers to dictate field placements autonomously.

Dinesh Karthik said “India definitely didn’t bowl well. The one thing Rohit Sharma needs to do in the next Test is not accept whatever the bowler is setting in terms of field. A lot of the times, I’ve seen bowlers sometimes try to be more defensive than they need to be. He needs to push the bowlers to set slightly attacking fields, at least to the opponent bowlers and batters who have just walked in.”