India didn’t get the batting order right: Kevin Pietersen

The third T20I of the five-match series between India and England at the Niranjan Shah Stadium in Rajkot was won by the visitors by 26 runs. First, the visitors recovered from a middle-order implosion to post 171 on the board. The second-half of the game firmly belonged to the English bowling unit, who stuck to their guns and defended their score successfully.

Former English cricketer, Kevin Pietersen, felt sending Dhruv Jurel at No. 8 was not the right call taken by the Indian management.

“India didn’t get the batting order right. Dhruv Jurel is an accomplished batter. Having him lower down the order for the left and right combination was not right. I’m a firm believer in your best batters batting up front,” shared Pietersen during the post-match interaction on Star Sports.

Former Indian wicketkeeper-batter, Parthiv Patel, resonated with Pietersen’s sentiments.

“Left and right combination is alright till No. 4 but after that, you should send your best batters. Jurel is a proper batter. He could have constructed a big innings,” reasoned Patel.

Notably, Jurel came in as a replacement for the injured Rinku Singh after the series opener. The batter has not had a good series so far, registering scores of 4 and 2 in the second and third match, respectively.