Former South Africa captain AB de Villiers took a dig at England’s Bazball approach after India dominated proceedings on Day 1 of the first Test at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Hyderabad. The hosts were 119-1 at stumps in Hyderabad and trailing England by 127 runs, with skipper Rohit Sharma (24) the sole wicket.
Jaiswal, on 76 off 70 balls, and Shubman Gill, on 14, were batting at the close of play.
Left-hander Jaiswal reached his fifty in 47 balls with a boundary off debutant Tom Hartley, whose bruising introduction to Test cricket saw him leak 63 runs from nine overs.
Rohit walked back dejected after mistiming a shot off left-arm spinner Jack Leach, with Stokes completing the catch in the deep.
But the way Jaiswal attacked the England bowlers, scoring at a strike rate of 108.57 without resorting to any unconventional method, gave rise to questions about England’s approach.
Praising India for maintaining such a high scoring rate without making much of a noise, De Villiers said it is all about playing according to the situation and waiting for the moments mentum to swing back your way.
“India batting at 8/9 rpo 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.
“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,” De Villiers wrote on X (formerly Twitter).
