"KL Rahul was too defensive"- Sanjay Manjrekar thinks Rahul's approach brought South Africa back into the contest in IND vs SA 2nd Test

Former Indian batter Sanjay Manjrekar has opined that KL Rahul's defensive approach played a small role in India's batting collapse against South Africa. India collapsed from 153/4 to 153 all out during the first innings of the ongoing Newlands Test match.

KL Rahul was the first of the six batters to lose his wicket. The wicketkeeper-batter, who scored a hundred in the Boxing Day Test match, failed to get going in Cape Town. He took 32 balls to score eight runs and then was out caught behind while trying an upper cut off Lungi Ngidi's bowling.

When asked if Rahul's irresponsible shot played a role in South Africa's comeback, Sanjay Manjrekar said on ESPNCricinfo:

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"See, you have to play shots. KL Rahul was too defensive. You won't last long if you defend so much. In a way, Rahul's approach played a small role in bringing SA back into the match."

Following Rahul's wicket, Ravindra Jadeja and Jasprit Bumrah handed catches to slip fielders in the same over of Lungi Ngidi. Kagiso Rabada then dismissed Virat Kohli, followed by Mohammed Siraj's embarrassing run-out and eventually Prasidh Krishna's dismissal.

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Sanjay Manjrekar thinks India can chase a target of more than 125 runs in the 4th innings of IND vs SA 2nd Test

South Africa trail by 36 runs with seven wickets in hand in the second innings of the ongoing Test match. It looks like the Proteas can set a target of around 100 or 125 for the Indian team in the fourth innings. When asked if India can chase a 125+ target on this pitch in Cape Town, Sanjay Manjrekar said:

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"I think the team can chase a target of more than 125 runs."

India will aim to wrap up the South African innings quickly and chase whatever target they receive. The live action will start at 1:30 pm IST.

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