Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Shubman Gill Not Spared As Sanjay Manjrekar Tears Into India's Batting Unit After Pune Defeat

27.10.2024 - 14:27 sports.ndtv.com

Former Indian cricketer Sanjay Manjrekar expressed dissapointment with Team India's batting during their shambolic loss to New Zealand in the second Test at Pune, which led to the hosts' first-ever series loss at home in 12 years.

Indian batters got the taste of their own medicine as the Kiwi spin attack led by Mitchell Santner, who took 13 wickets in the match, trapped the hosts in their own spin trap and defeated India by 113 runs to secure the series 2-0 with a game to go.

Speaking on ESPNCricinfo, Manjrekar said that he felt India could pull off a surprise when Yashasvi Jaiswal and Shubman Gill had a partnership going on but remarked that the latter does not have a "feel for spinners" and feels pressure while playing them on turning pitches. "When Yashasvi and Shubman were going together, I thought that there would be a surprise around the corner.

Shubman Gill clearly does not have the feel for spinners. You know batters, who can work with their footwork instinctively, he clearly is under pressure when he is playing spinners on turning pitches," Manjrekar said.

cricket India Cricket Team New Zealand Cricket Team 2024 Virat Kohli Rohit Sharma Shubman Gill Sanjay Manjrekar New Zealand India county Mitchell

Former New Zealand pacer Simon Doull attributed India's shocking series defeat to their batsmen's inadequacies against spin bowling but he was not ready to write off underwhelming star batter Virat Kohli. Left-arm spinner Mitchell Santner grabbed 13 wickets as the Kiwis walloped India by 113 runs in the second Test here on Saturday to take an unassailable 2-0 lead in the three-match series. “There's a misconception that Indian players are better players of spin. I think they've had better spinners and they've been able to expose the opposition batters. But in this Test (at Pune), their batters were exposed a little bit by a very, very good performance from Mitchell Santner,” Doull told PTI Videos.

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