Former India cricketer Sanjay Manjrekar suggested Rohit Sharma to work on his defence as he got out on a duck in the second Test match against New Zealand at Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium in Pune. Manjrekar reckoned that Rohit usually struggles when there is some movement on the pitch.
Rohit scored 54 runs in the first Test match, in which New Zealand defeated India by eight wickets to take a 1-0 lead in the three-match series.
"Defense is a matter of concern. He is a great player but he needs to improve his defense even more. I have seen it happen in the second innings of the last Test. He is doing well but in the first innings when the pitch is doing some movement, that is what we talk about. About Rohit's loose defence in the early part of his career. He does not step forward and go to play with the bat. He has started again" Manjrekar said on ESPNCricinfo.
Returning to the match, India's Washington Sundar and Ravichandran Ashwin picked seven and three wickets respectively to bundle out New Zealand on 259 runs. Sundar's scalps included the in-form Rachin Ravindra who had played a key role in New Zealand's win in the first encounter, Daryl Mitchell, Tom Blundell, Glenn Phillips, Mitchell Santner, Tim Southee and Ajaz Patel. While coming to bat, Rohit Sharma got out on a duck on Tim Southee's ball. This is the 14th time when Southee got the Indian captain's wicket.
Speaking after the end of day one, Washington said that he just focused on hitting the right areas consistently which helped him perform well in the game. He added that the team knew it would spin from day one. He further added that Daryl Mitchell's wicket was also his favourite.
"Just focused on hitting the right areas consistently. We knew it would start spinning from Day 1. (On whether there was a favourite wicket) Certainly the Rachin Ravindra wicket, because he was batting really well, and even the Daryl Mitchell wicket," Sundar said.
At Stumps on Day 1, India are 16/1 with Shubman Gill (10*) and Yashasvi Jaiswal (6*) unbeaten on the crease. After Day 1, India trailed by 243 runs.
