"Salt got out and then Liam got out, and I was reminded of RCB again" - Aakash Chopra criticizes England's batting in IND vs ENG 2025 2nd T20I

Former India player Aakash Chopra has criticized England's batting in the second T20I against the Men in Blue in Chennai. He pointed out that Phil Salt and Liam Livingstone, two big-ticket players acquired by the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) at the IPL 2025 auction, were found wanting once again.

India restricted England to 165/9 after Suryakumar Yadav asked them to bat first on Saturday, January 25. The hosts chased down the target with two wickets and four deliveries to spare to take a 2-0 lead in the five-match series.

In a video shared on his YouTube 'Aakash Chopra', the former India opener reflected on England's batting. He opined that Salt and Livingstone's successive failures might be concerning for RCB.

"Washi (Washington Sundar) picked up a wicket with his first ball. The bucket (Ben) Duckett has got here seems to have all holes. Four runs in the first match and three in the second. Arshdeep (Singh) dismisses Salt in any case. Salt got out and then Liam got out, and I was reminded of RCB again," he said (7:15).

Chopra pointed out that the England batters, especially Harry Brook, can't blame the air quality for their dismissals in Saturday's game.

"What AQI excuse do you give, the England guys should feel ashamed. Harry Brook said after the last match that he couldn't see the ball due to smog. The ball was visible this time but it still hit his stumps. It was a short ball, you played on the front foot and it hit your stumps. You are unable to read the ball from the hand," he observed.

The cricketer-turned-commentator questioned Ben Duckett and Phil Salt's shot selection.

"Duckett was playing a reverse sweep off the first ball. What are you doing? You might have played Washi for the first time in your life. It seemed like Phil Salt was playing well. It was a short ball and he could have hit it to third man as the fielder was in, but he dragged it to the leg side and was caught in the deep," Chopra elaborated.

Salt was caught at deep square leg off Arshdeep Singh's bowling for four. Duckett ballooned an attempted reverse sweep off Washington Sundar's bowling and was caught at point for three.

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"He too succumbed to a little extra bounce" - Aakash Chopra on Liam Livingstone's dismissal

Liam Livingstone scored 13 runs off 14 deliveries. [P/C: Getty]

In the same video, Aakash Chopra praised Jos Buttler (45 off 30) for his fighting knock but noted that the England skipper and Liam Livingstone fell prey to catches in the deep due to extra bounce.

"Buttler kept fighting alone. How long will the poor guy fight? He too was dismissed identically (similar to the last match). He got out to extra bounce. That was constantly telling us that the pitch was good for batting. Liam Livingstone, once again, he too succumbed to a little extra bounce," he said (9:05).

While appreciating Jamie Smith (22 off 12) for playing a cameo, the analyst lauded Brydon Carse for his all-round effort (31 off 17 and 3/29).

"Jamie Smith was playing well. He fell prey to Abhishek Sharma after hitting two sixes and a four. Brydon Carse actually changed the game. He scored 31 runs and might have scored 15 more runs if he hadn't gotten run-out. He also picked up three wickets with the ball. He was very, very good," Chopra observed.

Axar Patel (2/32) and Varun Chakaravarthy (2/38) were India's most successful bowlers. Arshdeep Singh, Hardik Pandya, Washington Sundar and Abhishek Sharma picked up a wicket apiece.