Former Indian batsman Sanjay Manjrekar lavished praise on the aggressive batting approach of Indian batters after the Men in Blue registered a comprehensive seven-wicket win at Dubai in the ongoing Asia Cup on Sunday.
Indian batters made light work of Pakistan while chasing a below-par target of 128. Abhishek Sharma set the tone, smashing 31 runs off just 13 balls to hit the ground running and gave a perfect start to his team.
Manjrekar highlighted that no Indian batter is looking to play for milestones and they want to play aggressively irrespective of the target on board. Suryakumar Yadav scored an unbeaten 47 off 37 balls, whereas Tilak Varma scored a run-a-ball 31.
Sanjay Manjrekar said on an Instagram video, “See, you have Abhishek Sharma, who got 30-odd in hardly any balls. And you would think he didn’t get a big score. But what he does is that immediately when he comes into bat and starts hitting the good balls for fours and sixes, it just sort of flattens the opposition very early.
“So, this is what you get when you have this new lot coming in, and nobody is thinking we’ve got a small target to chase, let me remain not out getting a 50 because there are plenty of overs left. Abhishek Sharma is looking to hit every ball for a four or six, even if that means that he might get out.”
The cricketer-turned-analyst hailed Indian players for their selfless game in T20Is.
“Shubman Gill the same, Suryakumar Yadav the same, Shivam Dube the same, the way they hit the big shots towards the end. No one wants to remain not out and play for the averages. And that is where this Indian team looks brilliant. It’s actually a great-looking team because of the skills that they have in bowling. Skill with batting as well, but more importantly, this selfless approach that they have, hats off!”
On the other hand, Manjrekar also showered praise on the relentless Indian bowling line-up and noted Pakistan had nowhere to hide as Indian bowlers kept coming at them.
“It’s just amazing how good India looks. The way they started off, Hardik Pandya getting that wicket, Bumrah with the new ball, and when these two are finished, it’s not like you played out the stronger bowlers; now there is going to be a weak link somewhere. No, after that, Kuldeep Yadav comes in, Axar Patel, Varun Chakaravarthy. So, there is just no relief for a team like Pakistan.”
India will next take on Oman at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium, Abu Dhabi on Friday.
