Former Indian star batter Sanjay Manjrekar managed to put a positive spin after the series loss to New Zealand. Rohit Sharma and his side lost their first Test series since 2012 when they lost by 113 runs in Pune. The team now has to win the Mumbai Test to keep their WTC final qualification hopes alive.
Sanjay Manjrekar said, “Also a team that won 18 consecutive home series losing one should not make India a poor team. The Score is 18-1. And that’s pretty awesome”. Ever since losing to England in 2012, the home team has been on a roll. India lost the first Test match in Bengaluru by 8 wickets before the reversal on Saturday.
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Also a team that won 18 consecutive home series losing one should not make India a poor team. Score is 18-1. And that’s pretty awesome!
— Sanjay Manjrekar (@sanjaymanjrekar) October 26, 2024
According to reports, Indian cricket team management has asked the players to assemble on Sunday (27th October). The players have been asked to undergo double training sessions. Even the senior players aren’t exempted from taking a break ahead of the final Test in Mumbai.
Sanjay Manjrekar wants Indian batters to play spin better
Former Indian batter Sanjay Manjrekar during his chat with ESPNCRICINFO said, “When Yashasvi and Shubman were going together, I thought there was surprise around the corner. Shubman Gill clearly doesn’t have the feel for spinners. You know batters, who can work with their footwork instinctively. He is clearly under pressure when playing the spinners on turning pitches.”
The former Indian batter also stressed the bad form exhibited by India’s two most experienced batters. Both Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli were at sea against the spinners with Kohli falling to Mitchell Santner in both innings. This raised a lot of questions as far as the applications of the spinners are concerned.
Sanjay Manjrekar said “Virat Kohli once again misread the length. The ball was much fuller than he anticipated and came back into him sharply. Rohit Sharma wasn’t confident at the crease. There are a lot of guys, top three out of four who are short of confidence against spin. On pitches like this, you see it is difficult to bat against spin first session and a half”
“I think that if India had backed their defense a little more, things could have gotten easier. If India hadn’t lost too many wickets earlier, this game could have been much closer with Rishabh Pant, Washington Sundar, and Ravindra Jadeja being around,” also added Sanjay Manjrekar.