Sanjay Manjrekar Points Out The 'Grave Mistake' India Made And That Cost Them The 2nd ODI
Published - 27 Mar 2021, 01:05 PM | Updated - 23 Aug 2024, 12:43 AM
Former batsman Sanjay Manjrekar believes that the unwillingness of the Indian batsmen to attack off-spinner Moeen Ali in the second ODI significantly decreased their total to what was then proven to be a below-par score by the England batters.
Moeen Ali, who was introduced as the fifth bowler, was taken for 47 runs in his 10 overs on a batting pitch as India posted 336 on the board with an assault in the last 10 overs.
Despite a target of 337, England sailed comfortably in their run-chase completing the victory in 43.3 overs with the help of a hundred from Jonny Bairstow and 99 from Ben Stokes. With the 6-wicket win on Friday, the visitors level the series with the decider to be played on Sunday.
Lesson learnt for India tonight: Sanjay Manjrekar
Sanjay Manjrekar opines that India failed to assess the par score on a falt pitch; he reckons the hosts should consider the batting strength of their opposition as well while batting first. Sanjay Manjrekar asserts that Virat Kohli and co. should have been more aggressive against Moeen Ali.
“Quality of opposition’s batting an important consideration when assessing par score along with pitch and ground conditions. Lesson learnt for India tonight,” Sanjay Manjrekar tweeted.
“Moeen Ali bowled 10 overs for 47 runs in today’s batting conditions. It wasn’t because he bowled brilliantly it was more because Ind didn’t really go after him. India would look back at that as a grave mistake not to be repeated in similar conditions,” he added.
“This is the reason why my player of the match last ODI was Shardul. If not for his 3 wickets, this would have been India’s fate in that game too,” the cricketer-turned-commentator stated.
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