Former India batter Sanjay Manjrekar praised Virat Kohli's captaincy while reviewing the performance of the Shubman Gill-led team on Day 2 of the Manchester Test. Manjrekar opined that, under Kohli's leadership, India never lacked energy on the field even when they were behind in the contest.England completely dominated Day 2 of the Manchester Test against India on Thursday, July 24. Resuming their first innings at 264-4, the visitors were knocked over for 358 as Ben Stokes claimed five wickets and Jofra Archer three. At stumps on Day 2, England were comfortably placed at 225-2 in their first innings.With India failing to pick up too many wickets, there wasn't much energy in the camp among players on the field. During a discussion on ESPNcricinfo, Manjrekar commented that India's body language was a lot more positive under the Kohli era irrespective of the situation of the match. He said:"You've got to remember Virat Kohli as captain. Tactically and when he picked his playing XI, he may not have been best - people may not have agreed with it. But, there was never a flat looking Indian team even when they were catching up with the opposition. They made sure that the spirit was there."Manjrekar also agreed to the observation that keeper-batter Rishabh Pant's absence in the field due to injuries in the last two Tests has not helped Gill's cause. The 60-year-old stated that Pant's presence could have made a difference to the energy of the team and would have also aided Gill in making better DRS calls."I don't say that this Indian team looked flat. These were difficult conditions, but Rishabh Pant makes a difference being on the field and Shubman Gill hasn't had his company on the field for a while," Manjrekar explained."Especially with that review, I am sure Rishabh Pant would have had, maybe a different view. You saw a bit of naivety setting in where Siraj was excited and Shubman Gill immediately gave the green signal for a review," he concluded.Coming out to bat with a fractured toe, Pant ended up scoring 54 off 75 balls, with the aid of three fours and two sixes. He had retired hurt for 37 on Day 1. The left-handed batter's fighting knock ended when he was cleaned up by Jofra Archer.England openers get off to terrific start on Day 2 of 4th ENG vs IND 2025 TestAfter bowling out India for 358 in 114.1 overs, England got off to an excellent start with the bat in their first innings. Openers Zak Crawley (84) and Ben Duckett (94) added 166 in 32 overs.It was Ravindra Jadeja who ended the frustrating stand, having Crawley caught at slip. Duckett then nicked a short and wide ball from debutant pacer Anshul Kamboj to the keeper. At stumps on Day 2, Ollie Pope was batting on 20 and Joe Root on 11. England trail India by 133 runs in the first innings.