"You've played upwards of 40 Tests" - Dinesh Karthik slams Team India's bowlers after Day 2 of ENG vs IND 2025 4th Test

Former cricketer Dinesh Karthik believes Team India pacers missed the trick by bowling a lot of deliveries on the leg stumps to England opener Ben Duckett on Day 2 of the ongoing fourth Test. After the Shubman Gill-led side were bowled out for 358, the southpaw played an impactful 94-run knock from 100 balls.

Karthik opined that India's experienced fast bowlers, Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj, shouldn't have erred with their line. Pointing out where the visitors went wrong, the 40-year-old told Cricbuzz:

"They went a touch too straight, and he kept picking them off from the leg side, and that's one of his biggest strengths. India would look back on that session and think, 'What could we have done better?' Straight away, the thing that you would say is, 'Can you bowl on off side'? Imagine 55 per cent of his runs (came on the leg side), that's a lot to give on the leg, isn't it?"

"With a bowling attack like Bumrah and Siraj, you've played upwards of 40 Tests, not to have that experience and understand why we should be doing this, we'd much rather err on this side. To be fair, it's hard to bowl to Ben Duckett because your margin of error is very little, but they did err a lot on line than on length," Karthik added.

Duckett's counter-attacking approach put India on the back foot. The swashbuckling batter hit 13 fours during his stay at the crease, finishing with a strike rate of 94.

His opening partner Zak Crawley also shone with the bat, scoring 84 runs off 113 deliveries. The hosts ended Day 2 at 225/2. They currently trail the touring side by 133 runs.

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"I am not sure" - Michael Vaughan questions Shubman Gill's decision to open the bowling with Anshul Kamoj on Day 2 of ENG vs IND 2025 4th Test

During the same discussion, former England captain Michael Vaughan suggested that India should not have given the new ball to debutant pacer Anshul Kamboj. He opined that Shubman Gill should have started with Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj instead.

He remarked:

"I am not sure I would have opened with Anshul Kamboj, a young debutant. With Mohammed Siraj, he's got six wickets inside the first 10 overs in the series with an average of 25. I would have gone with Siraj and Bumrah.

"I thought that was a brave call. I guess he (Gill) is trying to get him into the contest; he is trying to give him that lift as a new ball bowler, but I think I would start with Siraj."

Meanwhile, England currently lead the five-match series 2-1, making the ongoing Test a do-or-die for Shubman Gill and Co.