Test series will get underway with the first Test in Adelaide on December 6.
Most of the cricketing greats back India going into the four-match Test Series Down Under in Australia as favorites, Sanjay Manjrekar chose to come up with some crucial suggestions regarding their “alarmed batting” ahead of their Adelaide Test series opener on December 6, 2018.
Manjrekar, the former Indian cricketer and commentator, has also opined on the key aspects of India and Australia side have ahead of the Down Under, saying the “bowling” is the strengths of both the teams, but both the sides must look at their batting to make their chances in the Test series.
While Virat Kohli and his troops are keen on winning the Test series in Australia after being outshined in South Africa and England, Australia will start the Test series as the underdogs, and Manjrekar believes that the Indian cricket team should come up with better batting show in the upcoming Test series against the Kangaroos.
According to Manjrekar, both teams are standing at the same point in the Test series bearing in mind the bowling attack, expecting India come up with a better scoreline in Australia as compared to England and South Africa, as batting will be the difference in the Down Under.
Manjrekar told Hindustan Times on Monday (December 3), “The strengths of both the teams are bowling, in fact Australia have a better attack since they have Nathan Lyon also. India have their problems with batting, and even the Australian batting is very poor. India played well in South Africa and England and the scoreline was not reflective of the performance, but I expect a better scoreline in Australia compared to England and South Africa.”
He further added, “Combination of technique and temperament. For some it is a technical problem, for the others it is temperament. Temperamental in the sense, short of confidence. It is not as if they are not willing to grit it out, but then like I said, it is a combination of technical and temperamental aspect.
The graph of all the batsmen has gone down together. Batsmen like KL Rahul, Murali Vijay, Ajinkya Rahane, Pujara as well, as a batsman his graph has gone down. In the case of Pujara, it is the sheer mental grit that enables him to get few runs in overseas conditions.”
Meanwhile, the commentator wants to play Rohit Sharma in the first Test on December 6 in Adelaide, saying the Australian conditions suit his playing style, as a replacement for Prithvi Shaw.
He further noted, “I will play Rohit Sharma in the 1st Test, purely because like Prithvi Shaw, if Rohit Sharma gets runs quickly, you will discover that Indian batting will look stronger. The 1st Test is at Adelaide and Rohit has no issues against pace and bounce. I would not have picked him in South Africa and England, but in Australia, the ball comes on nicely he should bat at number 6. He can be dangerous batting with the tail, it will be a gamble, but worth taking.”
While commenting bowling combination for Australia Test, as far as the Indian bowling is concerned, former International wants to go ahead with one spinner and three pacers.
Manjrekar signed off by saying, “If the pitch is good and on day 1 you see no indications of it being a rank turner later on, then Ashwin is your bowler. But, it looks as if the pitch is going to turn a lot, then you need to play Ravindra Jadeja. As far as the fast bowlers are concerned, you need to identify the fact that Ishant Sharma is not the type of bowler who will go for the kill. He is a good 3rd seamer in the team and he is invaluable. Ishant is the workhouse. If you have to run through sides, Bumrah and Shami are your bowlers.”
(With Hindustan Times Inputs)