Former England batter slams Indian batters for missing out on hundreds

India's batters who got set and threw away their wickets in the 1st innings of the 1st Test at Hyderabad were criticized by the former England cricketer. Three batters from India managed to score 80 or more runs in the 1st innings and all three of them could not cross even 90-run mark. Michael Atherton criticized the Indian batter for being 'Generous' with England in the 1st innings.

Advertisment

It is worth noting that the likes of Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul, and Ravindra Jadeja got good starts and were well set before getting dismissed. While Jaiswal scored 80 runs, Rahul and Jadeja scored 86 and 87 runs respectively. While all of them batted well, they could not continue with the innings and ended up throwing away their wickets against the spinners who bowled half-trackers.

The fact that the batters threw away their wickets was criticized by Michael Atherton. The former England cricketer said that the visiting side was lucky as the Indian batter decided to throw away their wickets after getting set. He added that things would have been worse for England had the Indian batters who got the starts managed to play marathon knocks. 

Michael Atherton criticizes KL Rahul

Advertisment

"They were fortunate that India’s top order were in a generous mood but the situation at the close was very bad even so and could have been even worse," said Atherton. The cricketer-turned-commentator claimed someone like Virat Kohli has not thrown away his wicket after getting the start. Atherton criticised KL Rahul for throwing his wicket away. 

"It is hard to imagine that Virat Kohli would have been as obliging as his team-mates were here, and the biggest culprit was his replacement at No. 4, the stylish and gifted KL Rahul, who had a hundred for the taking before hammering a long-hop from Tom Hartley into the deep," added the former England batter. Meanwhile, India has surged ahead in the game by claiming five wickets of England in the 2nd innings.