After India’s 6-wicket defeat at the hands of England in the second ODI, former cricketer-turned-commentator Sanjay Manjrekar questioned the home team’s batting approach and par-score assessment.
Defending the target of 337, India’s attack crumbled in the face of an England onslaught at the MCA Stadium, Pune on Friday (March 26).
After the game, Manjrekar took to Twitter and pointed out that 336/6 posted by Virat Kohli's men was not enough against a power-packed English batting unit on a flat wicket.
He also highlighted Moeen Ali's bowling figures of 0 for 47 in 10 overs to put forward his point that the Indian batsmen were too cautious against the off-spinner in the middle-overs.
“Quality of opposition’s batting an important consideration when assessing par score along with pitch and ground conditions. Lesson learnt for India tonight,” Manjrekar tweeted.
“Moeen Ali bowled 10 overs for 47 runs in today’s batting conditions. It wasn’t because he bowled brilliantly it was more because Ind didn’t really go after him. Ind would look back at that as a grave mistake not to be repeated in similar conditions,” he wrote in another tweet.
Coming to the match, India piled up 336/6 in 50 overs on the back of KL Rahul’s 108 off 114 balls, Rishabh Pant’s 40-ball 77 and skipper Kohli’s 79-ball 66.
In reply, England rode on Jonny Bairstow’s 112-ball 124 and Ben Stokes’ blazing 99 off 52 balls to overhaul the target in 43.3 overs. The duo of Bairstow and Stokes made the mockery of Indian bowlers, stitching 175 runs for the second wicket in just 117 deliveries.
