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Asia Cup 2022: Manjrekar reacts to Indian batters' woes against left-arm pacers


image-l7t8pn05Virat Kohli had his stumps knocked over by Dilshan Madushanka [Image Credits- Twitter]

Former Indian cricketer-turned commentator Sanjay Manjrekar has reckoned that that Indian batters issue against left-arm pace in the ongoing Asia Cup was more out of desperation than defensive technique.

Sri Lanka's left-arm pacer Dilshan Madushanka proved to be India's latest nemesis in their recent encounter as he knocked over 3 wickets, including the prized scalp of the in-form Virat Kohli.

Kohli had his stumps uprooted after he failed to connect with an attempted hoick across the line.



Indian batters have had immense issues against the left-arm pace of the likes of Shaheen Afridi, Trent Boult in the past. But, Manjrekar believes that unlike previous instances where the batters were undone because of their poor defensive technique, this time, their downfall was brought about because of their desperation for big shots.

Madushanka went on to register figures of 3/24 as he backed up his powerplay exploits with a final flourish courtesy of wickets of Rishabh Pant and Deepak Hooda.

His spell eventually proved to be the difference in the end as Sri Lanka prevailed in a high-scoring final-over thriller.

Here's what Sanjay Manjrekar said:

"The dismissal that we saw with the left arm seamer was more out of desperation rather than not understanding the skills. as quoted by India Today.

The template can remain the same, so just get in for a while and because the dot ball scenario is there, a lot of the dismissal that we see is from batters trying to hit the big shot. Trent Boult, Mohammad Amir and for that matter Shaheen Shah Afridi when they got India out, it was a matter of defence, technique and the class of the bowler. In the Asia Cup, it was Indian batters just trying to hit the ball out of the park. And that’s how, you know, when someone is attacking the stumps, they win."


''The desperation has to go out'' - Sanjay Manjrekar to Indian batters

Manjrekar also pointed out that Indian batters should aim at scoring more runs in the second half of their innings than the first.

In this Asia Cup, India have struggled to get a final flourish, which ultimately proved to be their undoing against Pakistan and Sri Lanka.

"The desperation has to go out and the only thing that India has to do in this game, the big change that I want to see is that we get more runs in the second half of the innings, rather than the first."

Meanwhile, Virat Kohli ended the longstanding wait for an elusive 71st hundred as the champion batter smashed an unbeaten 61-ball 122 to help India post 212/2 in 20 overs against Afghanistan.


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