"Tactically for Rohit Sharma, this Test match wasn't his greatest" - Sanjay Manjrekar criticizes Indian skipper after loss in 1st IND vs NZ Test 2024
Former Indian batter Sanjay Manjrekar feels skipper Rohit Sharma wasn't at his tactical best in their first Test defeat to New Zealand at Bengaluru. After receiving widespread criticism for his captaincy when New Zealand added 137 crucial runs for the eighth wicket in the first innings, Rohit was in the firing line again on Day 5.
With the Black Caps chasing 107 for victory, Rohit brought India's greatest match-winner at home, Ravichandran Ashwin, with only 10 runs to defend. He instead used a wicketless Mohammed Siraj in two different spells for seven overs to no avail.
Following the match, Manjrekar spoke on ESPN Cricinfo and pointed out India's glaring errors on the final day.
"The thing with pacers, you might get wickets, but there are always runs coming through edges. I was a bit surprised, I think tactically for Rohit Sharma, this Test match wasn't his greatest. I can understand Siraj getting one or two overs and Bumrah getting a long spell. But Siraj getting 6 overs in that forespell, I think that is far too many and already a lot of runs on the board, and you had that little margin to chase," he said.
"And another part is Aswhin. When there is no lavish turn on the pitch, the captain tends to use him with a new ball. He would have been tough for the Kiwi batters had he started off with Bumrah, and even if he had come in in the fourth over of the inning," Manjrekar added.
The win was New Zealand's first in India in Tests since 1988 and only the third overall.
"We could have easily been bowled out cheaply but proud of the effort" - Rohit Sharma
Rohit Sharma remained upbeat despite India's shocking eight-wicket defeat to New Zealand and hailed the team's fightback with the bat in the second innings.
Despite trailing by a massive 356 runs after the first innings, the hosts fought valiantly to post 462 in their second essay to set New Zealand a target of 107.
At the post-match presentation, Rohit said:
"It was a good effort with the bat in the second innings. We didn't bat well in the first innings. So knew what was ahead and couple of guys stood out. When you are 350 behind you can't think too much about it. just got to see the ball and bat. Couple of partnerships were really exciting to watch and got us back in the game. We could have easily been bowled out cheaply but proud of the effort."
India will have to avoid a defeat in the next two Tests to continue their home Test series winning streak that stands at 18.
Meanwhile, the second India-New Zealand starts in Pune on October 24.