"You don’t have to call it brave, bold or bazz ball" - AB de Villiers takes cheeky dig at England while praising India's batting
Former South African captain AB de Villiers was highly impressed with the way Indian openers Yashasvi Jaiswal and Rohit Sharma took the game to England in the third session on Day 1 of the ongoing Hyderabad Test.
De Villiers shed light on how the hosts identified an opportunity to put pressure on the inexperienced England bowling. He believes being aware of the situation is more important than the brand of cricket a team wants to play, seemingly taking an indirect dig at England's 'Bazball' ideology.
Here's what AB de Villiers wrote in his post on X:
"India batting at 8/9 rpo (runs per over) at the start of their innings here. You don’t have to call it brave, bold or bazz ball, it’s literally just playing the situation. Identifying moments in a Test match where u can get ahead in the game is what it’s all about. When the momentum shifts, u adapt and absorb for a period and wait for that moment again."
De Villiers also cheekily gave England a warning about how teams can sometimes lose the plot while not being aware the situation and thereby give away an advantage in the name of their brand of cricket. He added:
"And ultimately, if you don’t respect the different moments and momentum shifts in the game, it will end up biting u, no matter what kind of ball you’re playing😉"
England's Bazball philosophy faced a stern test on Day 1 as they needed a rescue act from Ben Stokes (70 off 88 balls) to get to 246. The likes of Ben Duckett, Joe Root and Jonny Bairstow got starts, but none of them made a big score.
India on top of England after enthralling Day 1
Yashasvi Jaiswal and Rohit Sharma's opening partnership of 80 runs has put India in a commanding position at Stumps on Day 1. Although they lost Rohit's wicket, the hosts still have Jaiswal (76*) and Shubman Gill (14*) at the crease, with the score reading 119/1.
The inexperienced Tom Hartley was taken to cleaners by Jaiswal as the left-arm spinner conceded 63 runs in his nine overs. Jack Leach did scalp Rohit's wicket, but England have a challenging day ahead on Friday.
If the visitors do not manage to strike early and allow the hosts to stitch a couple of big partnerships, Ben Stokes and Co. could quickly find themselves chasing the game.