‘He wasn’t interested in…’ – Sanjay Manjrekar slams Virat Kohli for running out Yashasvi Jaiswal

Former Indian batter Sanjay Manjrekar has lashed out at Virat Kohli over his role in Yashasvi Jaiswal’s run-out. India were cruising at that, with Jaiswal batting well on 82 runs. The left-handed batter pushed the ball and went looking for a quick run, but Kohli didn’t respond as Jaiswal went running. 

Alex Carey whipped off the bails to run out Jaiswal for 82 runs from 118 balls. The batter hit 11 fours and a six, as he looked disappointed while going back to the hut. Team India ended the day at 164/5 with Rishabh Pant batting on 6 runs and Ravindra Jadeja on 4. 

Speaking on Star Sports, Manjrekar said, “Virat made a mistake and was then trying to justify himself by saying that he was looking back. Yashasvi is livid. It was his call, and Kohli should have responded." Just after this incident, even Kohli lost his wicket for 36, falling to Scott Boland. Akash Deep was the 5th wicket to fall when he was caught by Nathan Lyon off Boland to leave the hosts in a strong position heading into day 3. 

Sanjay Manjrekar upset at Virat Kohli over Jaiswal's wicket

During his chat on Star Sports, Manjrekar added, “The moment Yashasvi called for a run. Virat didn’t show interest and started looking away. This is not the right way, as Jaiswal would have been in danger as it was his call. I don’t know why Virat, despite hearing Jaiswal, turned his back. It seems he was not interested in a single and wanted to take strike in the next over. Both the batters were keen on facing the first ball of the next over.”

Before the wicket fell, the pair had put on a stand of 102 runs in 26 overs. Virat Kohli was looking ominous and played a few drives to signal his intentions of scoring big runs. Yashasvi Jaiswal too had opened his shoulders and smashed Mitchell Marsh for a huge six and was looking good for a ton. 

Pat Cummins gave Australia two early wickets by dismissing Rohit Sharma for 3 and KL Rahul for 24. Team India still has to score 110 runs to avoid the follow-on and will be hoping that Jadeja and Pant can forge a huge stand. Washington Sundar and Nitish Kumar Reddy are still left in the hut as the visitors come out to bat on Day 3.