Credits: X
Former cricketer Sanjay Manjrekar slammed Virat Kohli for getting out for a duck in the ongoing test series against New Zealand. Sanjay Manjrekar, in his official X account (formerly called Twitter), earlier praised former Indian captain Virat Kohli by stating, "That’s a true champion right there for you" for batting at No. 3 against New Zealand. He gave the example of former cricketing legends like Sachin Tendulkar and Sourav Ganguly, who hesitated to bat at the top order during test matches. However, after getting out for a duck in nine balls, Sanjay changed his direction by slamming Virat on his front foot technique, which led to his early knockout.
Virat Kohli entered the pitch to bat at No.3 after Rohit Sharma lost his wicket with just two runs in the first inning. Rohit won the toss on the second day of the match and chose to bat. Notably, Bengaluru's ongoing rain caused the first day to be cancelled before a ball was bowled.
Hats off to Virat Kohli: Sanjay Manjrekar praises Kohli
Sanjay Manjrekar was highly impressed with the decision of Virat Kohli to step into pitch to bat at No.3, describing it as a selfless act. He even stated Sachin Tendulkar and Sourav Ganguly were always hesitant to bat at the top order in test matches.
“Hats off to Virat Kohli! Coming out to bat at no 3 bcoz the team needed it. Ganguly, and Tendulkar were very keen to open in white-ball cricket, but never wanted to go up the order in Tests. That’s a true champion right there for you! Virat. 👏👏👏,” Sanjay Manjrekar wrote on X.
Unfortunately, this slight change in the batting order didn't work out. He was knocked out by William O'Rourke as he bowled a short-length delivery, which Kohli misjudged, resulting in the catch in the gully by Glenn Phillips.
Virat has compounded his problem: Manjrekar in his next tweet.
Post-dismissal, Sanjay Manjrekar took to his official X account slamming Kohli for his approach towards the bowl and his technique of his front foot action.
“Have said this before will say it again. Virat has compounded his problems by wanting to be on the front foot to every ball. No matter the length. Today’s dismissal ball could have been comfortably tackled off the back foot,” Manjrekar tweeted.
Fans and cricketing experts agreed with Manjrekar's analysis of Kohli's dismissal and blamed his stubborn attitude towards his approach for failing to score big. Kohli certainly would encounter this criticism, and it would be interesting to see if he changes his overall tactic, which would result in him scoring well in coming matches. In fact, Gautam Gambhir, Team India’s head coach, feels Kohli is “hungry” to score good runs in the test series.
Meanwhile, the Indian team registered the lowest test match score and was wrapped up for 46 on Day 2 of the first Test match series against New Zealand in Bengaluru, resulting in anger among fans.
