Former India cricketer Sanjay Manjrekar has come up with a change in the Indian batting line-up for the next ODI match against South Africa. The hosts, South Africa beat India by 31 runs in the first ODI on Wednesday (January 19).
India's middle-order collapsed while chasing 297 runs at Boland Park in Paarl. They started off well as opener Shikhar Dhawan scored 79 off 84 balls and former captain Virat Kohli added 51 runs from 63 deliveries.
But as soon as Kohli and Dhawan got dismissed, India went from 138/1 to 214/8. Rishabh Pant added 16 runs, Shreyas Iyer contributed 17 runs, and Venkatesh Iyer was sent back after scoring 2 runs by Lungi Ngidi.
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"I've maintained that India's middle-order looked a little short on batting when you have somebody like a Rishabh Pant batting at 5 and a Venky Iyer in a very unfamiliar role. You know, for a newcomer to bat down at No. 6 on a pitch that's going to be dry and getting slow further.
"There wasn't much of a threat down the order so I thought they should have made a place for somebody like Suryakumar Yadav... I guess a few little tweaks will have to be done to make sure that the middle looks a little more wholesome," Manjrekar told ESPNcricinfo after the game.
Apart from batting collapse, Indian bowling performance was also questioned by the cricket pundits. Manjrekar also felt that Team India conceded more than par score which caused trouble in their run-chase.
"Just far too many runs to chase, especially in a day game where the pitch wasn't going the get easier for the batters chasing and the ball wasn't going to get wet because of the dew... There was some hope at the start but somebody had to carry the bat through the innings. Shikhar Dhawan got out after being set, Virat Kohli as well. It was always going to be difficult... I think India lost the game when they allowed the opposition to go beyond 250," Manjrekar further said.
(With ESPNcricinfo Inputs)
