Former Indian opener Aakash Chopra said Yashasvi Jaiswal had himself to blame after he was run out in the first innings of the second Test match at the Arun Jaitley Stadium, Delhi on Saturday. Jaiswal called captain Shubman Gill for a quick single after hitting the ball straight to mid-off but the latter didn’t respond and was left ball-watching.
The left-hander was dismissed after scoring a mammoth knock of 175 runs and he could have got more runs if he hadn’t been run out. Chopra highlighted that a quick run was neither needed nor it was available.
Jaiswal was left dejected after the run out and was seen telling Shubman Gill that it was his call.
“I believe there was no run. A run is completed when two people run. I do get it that it was your call for sure, and you want to run, but it was neither required nor was it available. If you hit straight and run, what would you have done had Shubman not been able to reach the other end?” Aakash Chopra said on Star Sports.
“It was his (Jaiswal’s) danger end, but if the ball came into the fielder’s hands with such good bounce, if he had made a direct hit at the batter’s end, and Shubman had been unable to reach, whose mistake would it have been? At the end of the career, you understand that whoever gets run out, the mistake is theirs,” Chopra observed.
On the other hand, former Indian wicket-keeper bat Parthiv Patel said it is also crucial to consider that the non-striker needs to make his ground.
“Obviously, there are some unwritten rules. You are taught that it’s the batter’s call if he drives the ball and it goes to mid-on or mid-off. However, along with that, you also have to see that the non-striker has to reach somewhere,” he said.
Patel questioned Jaiswal for taking an unnecessary risk in the second over of the day’s play.
“If we go just by the rules, it’s right that it was the batter’s call, and the non-striker should have run. However, it was the second over of the day. It’s Test cricket and runs were coming easily. Do you need to take a run after hitting into mid-off’s hand like that?” Patel observed.
On the other hand, Gill scored an unbeaten knock of 129 runs to help India post 518 runs on the board.
