Former Indian cricketer Sanjay Manjrekar feels dropping Yuzvendra Chahal costed India the game. The visitors took on Australia in the 1st T20I in Brisbane. Virat Kohli’s men fell short by 4 runs in a nail-biter. India went with all-rounder Krunal Pandya instead of Chahal. Pandya, playing his maiden game down-under, went for 55 runs and failed to bag any wicket.
India paid the price for dropping Chahal.
Krunal Pandya bowled 4 overs for 55 runs & no wicket. India would have been chasing 20 runs less in all likelihood if Chahal was playing. Play Krunal as batsman if you want to, but not as replacement to Chahal.#AUSvsIND— Sanjay Manjrekar (@sanjaymanjrekar) November 21, 2018
Manjrekar feels having Chahal would have helped the side chase a lesser total. According to the commentator Pandya isn’t a wise option when it comes to bowling 4 overs. Though, he feels the elder Pandya can be used as a pure batsman instead.
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Sanjay Manjrekar not happy with India’s show
The hosts put on 158/4 in 17 overs before rain gods came calling. India were left to chase a revised total of 174 off 17 overs. Apart from Pandya, Khaleel Ahmed went expensive. The youngster conceded 42 runs in his 3 overs. The chasers got off to a flyer, courtesy a breezy 76 off 42 balls from opener Shikhar Dhawan.
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The southpaw hit 10 fours and a couple of sixes but failed to take India home. With five overs to go and about 60-plus runs to get, Rishabh Pant and Dinesh Karthik forged a crucial stand but faltered towards the end.
Karthik went for 30 off just 13 balls while Krunal Pandya struggled to out bat to ball. All-rounder Glenn Maxwell starred for the home team. The explosive batter made 46 off just 24 balls and took a good catch towards the end of the game.
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His fielding was quite sharp as usual and on one occasion, he almost pulled off a blinder. “I was pretty excited after dropping one earlier and let it go for six, I was pretty excited to make amends. (the previous one) slipped through my hands. The ball was a cake of soap. “It’s nice to have a bit of luck [with the bat]. It was great fun. Me and Stoin had great fun batting together.” Maxwell said post the victory.