According to former Indian player Sanjay Manjrekar, captain Rohit Sharma committed a number of tactical blunders during India's first Test loss to New Zealand in Bengaluru. Manjrekar said that some of Rohit's choices were poor and led to India's defeat, especially when it came to the bowling sequence.
Manjrekar on Rohit
Manjrekar criticised Rohit for giving pacer Mohammed Siraj 7 overs while New Zealand was attempting to chase down a manageable 107 runs. Manjrekar said that considering the circumstances, this was not the best decision. He also questioned why Ravichandran Ashwin, the best spinner in the game, was only handed two overs in the last innings. Manjrekar feels that Rohit should have done a better job of using Ashwin, who may have been crucial in protecting the low total.
"I can understand Siraj getting one or two overs and Bumrah getting a long spell. But Siraj getting 6 overs in that forespell, I think that is far too many and already a lot of runs on the board, and you had that little margin to chase. And another part is Aswhin. When there is no lavish turn on the pitch, the captain tends to use him with a new ball. He would have been tough for the Kiwi batters had he started off with Bumrah, and even if he had come in in the fourth over of the innings," Manjrekar said in an interview with ESPNcricinfo
"The thing with pacers, you might get wickets, but there are always runs coming through edges....I was a bit surprised, I think tactically for Rohit Sharma, this Test match wasn't his greatest," Manjrekar added.
India was bowled out for a meager 46 runs in the first innings, which was mostly due to their batting problems. With a magnificent century from Rachin Ravindra and 91 runs from Devon Conway, New Zealand took advantage of this collapse. The squad could not quite recover despite a valiant effort spearheaded by Sarfaraz Khan's 150 and Rishabh Pant's 99 in India's second innings, which raised the total to 462 runs.
Ultimately, with only 107 runs to defend, India's bowling team had an uphill task. With ease, New Zealand reached the goal, winning by 8 wickets and placing India under pressure ahead of the second Test in Pune. Concerns regarding India's strategies are becoming more prevalent in light of Manjrekar's appraisal as the squad prepares to recover in the next Test. Rohit and his group are under pressure to make wiser choices and turn the series around.
