"Tragic that despite 2 double centuries, he doesn't end up Player of the Match" - Sanjay Manjrekar hails Yashasvi Jaiswal for heroics in 3rd Test
Former Indian opener Sanjay Manjrekar admitted feeling for Yashasvi Jaiswal to walk away empty-handed as far as Player of the Match is concerned despite back-to-back double centuries.
The 22-year-old was pipped for the Player of the Match award by Jasprit Bumrah in the second Test and Ravindra Jadeja in the third. However, Jaiswal has solidified himself as India's Test opener with 545 runs in the three Tests at a stunning average of 109.
He is also the leading run-scorer in the series thus far and joined Wasim Akram for most sixes hit in a Test innings with 12 during his second innings double ton at Rajkot.
Speaking on ESPNcricinfo after India's win in the third Test, Manjrekar praised Jaiswal as a special talent with unlimited range.
"Yashasvi Jaiswal is a special talent that he can play defensively for 50 balls with good technique against the new ball and then unleashes and gets into T20 immediately. And the 12 sixes were very modern in that they were going into the stands. And it's not only one range, he hit some mind-boggling shots. It's really tragic that despite getting two double centuries, he doesn't end up Player of the Match. Because Somebody else has more match-winning contributions," said Manjrekar [0:23].
It was Jaiswal's third score of 150-plus in his seventh Test outing, helping India set England a massive target of 557.
Meanwhile, his second Test double-century led India to a series-leveling 106-run victory.
"Sarfaraz at this stage plays spin bowling the best in the Indian lineup" - Sanjay Manjrekar
Sanjay Manjrekar paid debutant Sarfaraz Khan the highest compliment by calling him the best player of spin in the current Indian batting lineup.
In his maiden Test outing, the 26-year-old scored 62 and 68* in the two innings while showing no signs of nerves.
"Sarfaraz at this stage plays spin bowling the best in the Indian lineup. In that he is not going to be hitting 4s and 6s all the time yet seems so comfortable all the time and just the way you need to play spin, the copybook style of how to score runs without taking risks and hitting the ball in the air against spin, Sarfaraz has that ability," said Manjrekar [1:06].
Manjrekar also felt Sarfaraz Khan could be the ideal middle-order batter for India in 50-over cricket with his ability to manipulate the field against spinners.
"Watching him bat in the two innings, think India have found a brilliant middle-order batter for 50-over cricket. When the challenge is to keep rotating the strike without taking too many risks with 5 fielders inside the circle, Sarfaraz will be fantastic in that," added Manjrekar [1:32].
For the uninitiated, Sarfaraz boasts a moderate List-A record with an average of 34.94 and a strike rate of 94.16 in 37 outings.
With their massive 434-run win, Team India now lead the five-match Test series by a 2-1 margin.