Former Indian cricketer Sanjay Manjrekar has pointed out the critical errors made by the Indian captain Rohit Sharma during the two-match test series against South Africa. The Men In Blue made a dramatic comeback to win the Cape Town test in a dominating fashion after a humiliating defeat in the 1st test.
During the 1st test, Rohit Sharma’s decision to start the third session with Shardul Thakur and Prasidh Krishna instead of Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj proved to be costly for the Indian team, as they leaked more runs in the game. The 36-year-old failed to maintain the pressure on the South African team by not rotating the correct bowlers.
Speaking on Espncricinfo, Sanjay Manjrekar criticised Rohit Sharma for not bringing Mohammed Siraj on from the other end on Day 2 of the second Test, while Jasprit Bumrah was getting wickets from one end.
He believes the visitors were fortunate that the blunder cost them little because Siraj had done all the damage in the first innings before picking up Markram’s wicket in the second.
“In Test cricket, if you lose moments, you lose the game. Rohit made mistakes in both Tests and while it cost us massively in the first game, thankfully Siraj had given allowance for the second Test. Siraj bowling just one over when Markram was scoring and the lead swelled to 60 was a mistake,” Sanjay Manjrekar said.
Because of the surface’s inconsistent bounce, most batters on both teams battled from the start. South Africa batted first and were all out for 55 runs in the first innings. Mohammed Siraj proved too hot for them, destroying their batting order and taking six wickets in the first session and also picked up the important wicket of Aiden Markram in the second innings.
Rohit Sharma Is Still Among The Last Of The Old-school Test Batters – Sanjay Manjrekar
Sanjay Manjrekar believes Indian skipper Rohit Sharma has the skill set of a typical old-school Test batter and that his place in the team is secure if he wants to play. He feels Virat Kohli will play for the foreseeable future and considers him to be India’s finest Test batsman right now, with Rishabh Pant out being injured.
“Rohit Sharma is still among the last of the old-school Test batters. Only he can tell us how much Test cricket he wants to play. I think if he wants to extend his Test career, there will be no competition”.
“Virat Kohli I feel will play as long as possible and thankfully for us. This tour in tough conditions just the difference between him and the next best Test batter India has at least until Rishabh Pant is back,” Sanjay Manjrekar added.
The Men In Blue has a lengthy home season, which begins with three Twenty20 Internationals against Afghanistan and ends with a five-match Test series against England followed by the much-anticipated Indian Premier League.