Sanjay Manjrekar Wants Spinning Tracks Against NZ: Former Indian cricketer turned commentator Sanjay Manjrekar believes that the pressure will now fall on the curators to make the pitches for the next two Test matches against New Zealand rank-turners following India’s loss to the Kiwis in the first Test match.
New Zealand shocked the world when they defeated India in the first Test match of the three-match series in Bengaluru’s M Chinnaswamy Stadium. This was their first win in the country since 1988. The historic win came off of dismissing the home team for just 46 runs in the first inning and then going on to win the match by eight wickets.
The Indian Cricket Team is now at the risk of losing their first home series since 2012. And so, the team will look back upon the first Test to see what went wrong. Besides the dismal collapse in the first inning, it was the spin battery that let India down.
As New Zealand scored 402 in their first innings, Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja took three wickets each. But Ashwin bowled at a poor economy of 5.88. And besides the 46-run inning, the spilling of runs towards the end of New Zealand’s first inning played a big role in India’s loss. This resulted in the pacers getting more overs in the final inning, where India had to defend 107 runs.
Sanjay Manjrekar Wants Spinning Tracks Against NZ
Sanjay Manjrekar, who has been commentating on India vs New Zealand matches for JioCinema, now believes that Indian captain Rohit Sharma and head coach Gautam Gambhir will now be looking to get more spinning tracks. He also believes that rank-turners will give India the best chance to salvage this series. In a recent appearance on ESPNCricinfo, Manjrekar said,
“The pressure is more on the curators now for the next two Test matches. I think one of the big takeaways was how Ashwin and Jadeja didn’t quite make an impact on an Indian pitch that had a bit of a turn. So obviously, they need more help, and that will be given.”
He then went on to say that while India has a fine unit of pace bowlers, the New Zealand fast bowlers could use the pace-friendly conditions better.
“I guess India can win with seamers as well, but New Zealand seamers will use those conditions maybe as good or even better than the Indian seamers,” he said.
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Finally, Sanjay elaborated upon how spinning tracks will make the remainder of the series much easier for India, saying,
“I see India coming back, and even in the first Test, there were some champion performances that they put in after getting 46. To be competing right till the very end was just incredible. So, it is a very dangerous team with match-winners who have great self-belief. If the pitch turns out to be a rank-turner, it will make India’s life that much easier.”
The Indian Cricket Team has never lost a series to New Zealand at home. They will be looking to keep that record intact when they face the Kiwis in the second Test of the three-match series from October 24-28 in Pune’s Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium.
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