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Updated March 21st, 2021 at 13:39 IST

Kevin Pietersen slams England 'completely wasting' Ben Stokes as India win T20 series

After the series defeat, Kevin Pietersen took to his Twitter handle and slammed the idea of sending Ben Stokes at number 6 position and Jonny Bairstow at 4

Reported by: Ujjwal Samrat
@englandcricket/AP
| Image:self
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Former England batsman Kevin Pietersen lashed out at the idea of English team management sending all-rounder Ben Stokes at the number 6 batting position. India on March 20 defeated England by 36 runs and clinched the five-match T20 series by 3-2 at the Narendra Modi cricket stadium in Ahmedabad. 

In the final match, India made a 'tactical change' and replaced out-of-form KL Rahul with T20 specialist bowler T Natarajan. Captain Virat Kohli promoted himself up the batting order and opened the innings for India along with Vice-Captain Rohit Sharma. This move by the Indian team management and captain Kohli worked. Both Kohli and Rohit Sharma scored their half-century which helped India to set a massive target of 225 runs for England. 

In response, England was restricted by the Indian bowlers at 188 runs with a loss of 8 wickets. Joss Butler and Dawid Malan brought back England in the record run-chase, however, Bhuvaneshwar Kumar dismissed the English wicket-keeper before it was too late for India. 

In the record run chase, it was expected that captain Eoin Morgan might shuffle the batting order and send its top all-rounder Ben Stokes up the order. However, Ben Stokes was sent on his usual batting position i.e. on number six. When Stokes came out to bat, England needed 83 runs off 30 balls. Soon, Stokes was dismissed by T Natarajan at a meager score of 14 runs off 12 balls.

After the series defeat, Kevin Pietersen took to his Twitter handle and slammed the idea of sending Ben Stokes at number 6 position. He also criticised the idea of sending Jonny Bairstow at number 4.

It is to be noted that Ben Stokes who arrived in the later half of the IPL 2020 opened for Rajashthan Royals. In his 8 innings, Ben Stokes showcased his spectacular batting skills scoring 285 runs at an amazing average of 40.71. Stokes played an explosive knock of 107 against the Mumbai Indians. On the other hand, Jonny Bairstow opens for Sunrisers Hyderabad. 

(Image Credits: @englandcricket/AP)

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Published March 21st, 2021 at 11:43 IST

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