India vs England: 'Jadeja and Ashwin should get attacking fielders', Dinesh Karthik on hosts' 'defensive' approach

Team India did not have a pleasant start to their five-match Test series campaign against England having suffered a 28-run defeat in the opening contest. Chasing a target of 231, India were bowled out for 202 at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Hyderabad. India’s defensive approach in the first Test baffled some and many blasted the hosts’ style of gameplay. India wicketkeeper Dinesh Karthik slammed skipper Rohit Sharma for deploying defensive tactics. Karthik stated that against English tail-enders like Tom Hartley, India’s spin duo of Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja should have had an attacking field set-up. IND vs ENG:  Ben Stokes and Co give hosts a reality check as ‘Bazball’ announces itself in India in style “India have been too defensive. I can understand being defensive to Pope but to Tom Hartley, Jadeja and Ashwin should get attacking fielders and not so many sweepers," Karthik said on JioCinema. Former India cricketer Ravi Shastri also voiced a similar opinion. Shastri felt that Rohit Sharma and his men are not used to seeing visiting teams posting 400-plus totals in the third innings. “The body language is dropping. This is an unknown territory for India. You can sense the home team is under pressure. They are not used to visiting teams pilling on 400-plus runs in the third innings," he said. England’s Ollie Pope and Tom Hartley were the two star performers of the side as the visitors clinched a much-needed lead in the five-match Test series against India. Pope played a fine knock of 196 to guide the visitors to a mammoth total of 420 in the second innings. For Pope, this was his first competitive fixture since his shoulder surgery and the English batter could not have asked for a better comeback to competitive cricket. Pope was also, quite rightfully, named the Player of the Match for his stupendous batting. In the bowling unit, Hartley had a tremendous outing as he scalped seven wickets in the second innings. Hartley registered figures of 7/62 yesterday. This was also the best figures by an England spinner on his debut Test match during the post-war period. Robert Berry’s figures of 9/116 against the West Indies in the Manchester Test in 1950 were the previous best. The second Test match between India and England is scheduled to start on 2 February in Visakhapatnam.