Sanjay Manjrekar and Virat Kohli
Photo : Sanjay Manjrekar- Instagram/BCCI
In the ongoing 1st Test between India and New Zealand, the Rohit Sharma-led side suffered a shock batting collapse, which saw them get all-out for just 46 runs on the board in their 1st innings on Day 2 at the Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru. This horror show brought back memories from the 2019-20 Border Gavaskar Trophy, where Virat Kohli-led India recorded their lowest-ever team total of 36 in the Adelaide Test. The latest batting debacle meant, this was India's third-lowest score in the longest format and the lowest at home.
The likes of Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, KL Rahul, Sarfaraz Khan, Ravindra Jadeja and even Ravichandran Ashwin all failed to live up to their expectations as none of them managed to touch the double-digit score.
Just ahead of the India innings, former India cricketer cum commentator, Sanjay Manjrekar heaped huge praise on Virat Kohli for relinquishing his preferred top-order position, something which the Indian greats in Sachin Tendulkar and Sourav Ganguly never did as per him. The 36-year old India star batted at the no. 3 slot and were dismissed for a duck after facing nine balls.
Manjrekar pointed out that Virat's 'obsession' of playing front-foot shots has led to his dismissal and he is quite regular with it.
''Virat Kohli will have to do something about his obsession with front-foot play that he has'', he told ESPNCricinfo.
Combination of the ball doing a lot, New Zealand bowlers blowing well, some batters not trusting their defence and not being confident with the way they were defending the moving ball. Virat Kohli was too much on the front foot, so got himself into a bit of a tough position'', the 59-year old added.
He also talked about Rohit Sharma's decision to bat first as the pitch was well-suited for the spinners and the dampness and the weather around has helped New Zealand a lot.
"Anybody who had a look a the surface was wondering what would a captain do after winning the toss. So, it wasn't one of those straightforward decisions where you saw the pitch and you want to bat first or bowl first because clearly it was a pitch which was made for spinners but had a certain amount of dampness because of the weather around. India would not have imagined that it would have so much life and would work so much in favor of New Zealand'', he asserted.
At stumps, the visitors are currently batting on 180/3 with a lead of 134 runs. Rachin Ravindra and Daryl Mitchell are presently at the crease for the Kiwis.
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