"You watch Joe Root" - England legend's blunt advice to Virat Kohli after dismissal in IND vs ENG 3rd ODI 2025

Former England batter Kevin Pietersen has advised Virat Kohli to watch Joe Root's batting against spin after a second consecutive dismissal to Adil Rashid in the third ODI in Ahmedabad on Wednesday, February 12. Despite scoring a 55-ball 52, Kohli fell to Rashid for the 11th time across formats.

The 36-year-old was dismissed by a leg-spin delivery that drew him forward and took the outside edge of his bat, as he was caught by Phil Salt behind the stumps. Kohli was identically dismissed by Rashid in the second ODI, making it five times that the England spinner had gotten the better of him in the 50-over format.

Talking about Kohli's struggles against Rashid on Star Sports, Pietersen said [via India Today]:

"Look how far forward his bat is in front of his pad. This means he's got the length wrong and he's too good a player to get out like that. He shouldn't be doing it. He shouldn't be giving Adil Rashid that chance to get his wicket. You watch Joe Root. He will never be over-committed on the front foot like that. No way."

He added:

"He shouldn't be getting out to that ball. He's a much better player than that. And he will be kicking himself. That ball is bowled slowly through the air. So he shouldn't have been over-committed on the front foot. He should have played back to it. He should have punched it into the offside, and he would still have been batting and he probably would have gone on to get a big score. That's where you can see where the ball has made contact with the bat."

Rashid joined Josh Hazlewood and Tim Southee as the bowlers to have dismissed Kohli the most times (11) in international cricket.

Team India complete ODI series whitewash over England as Kohli scores half-century

India dominated England in all three ODIs [Credit: Getty]

Team India completed a 3-0 ODI series whitewash over England after the 142-run victory in the final ODI in Ahmedabad on Wednesday. After losing skipper Rohit Sharma (1) early, Kohli joined the in-form Shubman Gill, and the duo added 106 for the second wicket before Kohli's (52) dismissal.

Gill carried on his imperious form by scoring a 102-ball 112 and was well-supported by Shreyas Iyer, who scored 78 off 64 deliveries. India posted a massive total of 356 in their 50 overs.

In response, the visitors folded once again after a solid start to be bowled out for a paltry 214 in the 35th over.

With an impressive 3-0 series win behind them, India will undoubtedly be one of the favorites for the 2025 Champions Trophy, starting February 19.