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Sanjay Manjrekar reckons that the Team India captain Rohit Sharma was not at his tactical best during the recently concluded Boxing Day Test against South Africa in Centurion, which the visitors lost by an innings and 32 runs on Day 3 (Thursday).
He pointed out how Sharma made a blunder by bowling Prasidh Krishna and Shardul Thakur in tandem ahead of pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah to start the second session on Day 2.
Assessing the Indian skipper's leadership in the game, Manjrekar told ESPNcricinfo:
"I think there was a certain amount of underestimation of the South African batting after India got 245. But yes, it wasn't one of Rohit Sharma's best days or Test matches as captain. That was a blunder (starting with Shardul Thakur and Prasidh Krishna after Lunch). These are the moments that you have to cash in. That was a huge mistake."
The cricketer-turned-commentator also highlighted that Sharma did not intervene when the Indian bowlers were trying a lot of different things instead of sticking to a plan.
"Plus, the bowling plans as well, not just the bowling changes. I was just amazed by what the Indian bowlers kept trying almost throughout the Test match. You had an instance of Marco Jansen getting the outside edge and the ball just falling short of KL Rahul. After that, there were a couple of deliveries in that same region, and then there was the bouncer, and then there was a full-length delivery, and then something going down the leg side. That was unexpected and that is somewhere where the captain could come in and say,' Guys, time running now, let's stick to discipline,'" Manjrekar added.
South Africa registered an impressive 408-run total in response to India's first innings score of 245. The Men in Blue slumped to a heartbreaking defeat after being bundled out for 145 in the second essay,
"His defense needs to get a little more tight" - Sanjay Manjrekar on Shubman Gill
Team India's No. 3 Shubman Gill failed to score big in both innings, finishing with scores of 02 and 26 in the Boxing Day Test against South Africa.
Sanjay Manjrekar pinpointed the talented batter's weakness by suggesting that he needs to work on his defense.
"Shubman Gill's defense is getting breached a bit too often. It happened in the World Cup final as well in an ODI match on an Indian pitch. So, his defense needs to get a little more tight to the balls pitched up," he said.
The 58-year-old mentioned that while Gill should look to work on his defense, Shreyas Iyer needed to address a lot more issues.
"Amongst the three (young batters), Shreyas Iyer has the most work to do on his defensive technique. He does not just have one issue of defense; there are few that he needs to correct. And one thing in Test matches, you cannot counterattack, hit a few boundaries and put a bowler off because he does not have a limit on how many overs he can bowl," Manjrekar remarked.
Shreyas got off to a decent start in the first innings, scoring 31 runs. However, he managed just six runs in the second innings.
