Sanjay Bangar says India’s batting on day 2 of WTC 2021 final was the turning point

New Zealand beat India in WTC final by 8 wickets.

Former Indian batting coach Sanjay Bangar opined that India's batting on the second day of the World Test Championship final (WTC 2021) against New Zealand in Southampton was the turning point in the match.

India crumbled for 219 in the first innings after being 145/3, with Kyle Jamieson picking 5/31. The former all-rounder reckoned that the Indian batting crumbled under pressure and should have aimed at getting 275 runs.

"I feel (that the turning point was) how we batted on Day 2 of the Test match. We were in a great position on day one after being asked to bat. Credit to the New Zealand bowlers especially Kyle Jamieson who bowled really well," Bangar told cricket.com.

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"They (New Zealand) put up a plan and created a lot of pressure. If the Indian batting unit has to look back, they will say that for sixty overs in the first innings they played well but at least 275 was required. From 145/3 and when the ball was old, getting bowled out for 217 was crucial." said Bangar.

India Test vice-captain Ajinkya Rahane top-scored in 1^st innings with 49 but has not done much since his century against Australia in MCG. Bangar was hopeful of the Mumbai batsman putting up a strong show with the bat in the upcoming Test series against England.

"Ajinkya has always performed when India has won a Test abroad but even he would like to have himself a big series (with complete dominance), something which has eluded him so far in his career. He has been a keen student, a very motivated player besides a thinker of the game. And, I hope in future he can score heavily in an entire series and things can get better from there for him,” he said.

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Furthermore, Sanjay Bangar also said that India should be investing more time and effort in Hanuma Vihari and Karun Nair as middle-order options going forward. Nair, who scored a triple hundred in Tests against England, has not been part of the Indian team since the 2018 tour of the UK.  

"Vihari has been a good investment because of his fine contributions in the past. More recently, it was his solid effort in Sydney (2021) in drawing that Test. He is a very capable batsman, but one player in the queue for the middle order could be Karun Nair because of his Test match record and his overall first-class numbers. Karun had one or two average Test matches and he was sidelined,” he said.

(IANS inputs)