IND vs SA: Sanjay Manjrekar Feels Ajinkya Rahane and Cheteshwar Pujara Should Have Hit 80s or 90s Like Dean Elgar In Johannesburg Test

Ajinkya Rahane and Cheteshwar Pujara slammed the fifties in IND vs SA 2nd Test but former Indian player Sanjay Manjrekar feels that the senior duo should have batted even better. After struggling with poor batting form for months, the middle-order senior duo scored a 111-run partnership for the 3rd wicket during the IND vs SA 2nd Test in Johannesburg.

While Ajinkya Rahane hit 58 runs, Cheteshwar Pujara slammed 53. However, they both lost their wickets in quick succession which gave a big blow to the team’s batting. In the end, India could only reach 266-10 in the 2nd innings to set up a target of 240 runs for South Africa. With Dean Elgar’s unbeaten 96, South Africa won the match quite comfortably by 7 wickets.

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Ajinkya Rahane And Cheteshwar Pujara Should Have Got A Bigger Score: Sanjay Manjrekar

In a conversation with ESPNcricinfo, cricket commentator Sanjay Manjrekar said that Ajinkya Rahane and Cheteshwar Pujara owned runs to the Indian team due to their experience. He also added that they should have scored in the 80s or 90s like Dean Elgar instead of just fifties.

“You have to look at the innings of Pujara and Rahane slightly differently because these are guys who owed runs and they got fifties which is great, back in form, good enough to keep places in the side. But guys with that kind of experience, just like Dean Elgar, could they not have gone on to get a bigger score?

“An 80 or a 90 or a 100 because that’s what they owed the Indian team and then the target would have been beyond the reach of the South Africans,” Sanjay Manjrekar said.

However, Sanjay Manjrekar also agreed that rain played a role in favour of South Africa’s batting in the match. Day 4 of IND vs SA 2nd Test was affected by rain and was delayed for hours at the start.

“That’s one way to look at it but yes the pitch played a little better in the sense that because of the rain, every time the ball didn’t kick, it was coming onto the bat nicely and going off the bat nicely as well. So batting became a little easier because of the rain,” Sanjay Manjrekar added.

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With Dean Elgar’s brilliant knock of 96 not-out, South Africa managed to outplay India by 7 wickets in the match. Earlier, India posted 202-10 in the 1st innings, to which the hosts replied with 229 all out. Later, India put up 266-10 on the scoreboard after trailing by 27 runs in the 2nd innings. The 240-run target was not enough to restrict South Africa from winning the match. Now, the three-match series stands tied at 1-1.

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