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Kevin Pietersen slams Team India’s batting order after Rajkot loss
By SMCS - Jan 29, 2025 8:00 am
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Former England player Kevin Pietersen questioned Team India’s batting order after they faced a 26-run defeat to England in the third T20I of the five-match series in Rajkot. Pietersen also raised concerns about why Dhruv Jurel was batting so low, as Indian batters faltered against a strong England bowling attack as well.

Dhruv Jurel
Dhruv Jurel

“I didn’t like the batting order either. I’m someone who believes your best batters should bat at the top of the order. I was in South Africa last week, and the Durban Super Giants were having an absolute shocker of a tournament. But Quinton de Kock was batting at 3 or 4, and Heinrich Klaasen was batting at 6 or 7. I approached these guys and asked, ‘Why are you doing this?’ You’ve seen the same thing happen here this evening. A guy like Dhruv Jurel, who is a very good and accomplished batter, is being dropped down the order because of the left-hander, right-hander strategy. Hardik is struggling a little, and there wasn’t that much pressure on these batters to come out and score at 10 runs per over,” Kevin Pietersen said while speaking on Star Sports.

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Dhruv Jurel
Dhruv Jurel scores a gritty half-century

While chasing a target of 172, India lost in-form Tilak Varma on the last ball of the 8th over. Surprisingly, the Indian team management changed the batting order and decided to send Washington Sundar instead of Dhruv Jurel, who was waiting in the dugout. Sundar struggled as he managed only 6 runs off 15 balls. Jurel didn’t come even after Sundar’s dismissal. Instead, Axar Patel came to bat and he also struggled with 16 runs off 15 balls before top-edging Jofra Archer to short third as well.

Meanwhile, Hardik Pandya’s slow batting further troubled India’s run rate, allowing England to have the upperhand. Jurel finally came to bat when only 16 balls were left and  got out, scoring just 2 runs off 4 balls. And, India eventually lost.