Former Test batsman Sanjay Manjrekar tells Mobile ESPN the tri-series win in Colombo exposed chinks in India’s armoury.
By Saumya Pant
When you dissect a game from an expert point of view, all that glitters is not always gold. Ask Sanjay Manjrekar, he will tell you how close India came to losing their 27th final in 48 appearances, Monday night.
Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s face perhaps told a thousand words on a sultry Colombo evening at Premadasa Stadium. Not even the crackers lit up the captain’s face after India pulled off a 46-run win against hosts Sri Lanka. Manjrekar says winning the trophy is all fine, but the Men in Blue will have a lot of kinks to iron out before the Champions Trophy in South Africa later this month.
India’s victory perhaps proved the critics wrong. Frankly, after Lanka thrashed India by 139 runs in the inconsequential dress rehearsal, you can’t fault anyone if they brand the hosts as favourites. More so, when Lanka did not lose a final in their last seven appearances at home.
Manjrekar himself gave Lanka the edge but like all Indians, he is happy that Dhoni’s Devils will be traveling to Johannesburg with a title under their belt.
“It was a wonderful win for India, a win that they have to be really proud of. Beating Sri Lanka at their own backyard is never easy, especially at the Premadasa,” Manjrekar said, adding: “the new pitch probably had something to do with the victory.”
“The wicket for the final was vastly different from the earlier surfaces we had in the series. It was a lot better batting pitch and India realised that when they took first strike. Had they got 250-270, Sri Lanka might have had a better chance of getting there. That’s how good the pitch was,” Manjrekar said.
Manjrekar credited the senior players, Sachin Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid for laying the foundation for the victory. Tendulkar's beautiful innings of 138 off 133 balls was his highest innings against Sri Lanka, beating the 137 off 137 balls at Delhi on March 2, 1996. The Master Blaster also became the first visiting player to make 1,000 runs at the Premadasa.
“Tendulkar was especially refreshing to watch. It was great to see him play some of the shots of the old,” Manjrekar said.
Manjrekar, like Dhoni, said there were lessons learnt, too. The fielding was shoddy (Yusuf Pathan, Ashish Nehra and Virat Kohli dropped sitters), the bowling erratic (Dhoni made quite a bit of goalkeeping dives on either side of the wicket) and the overall demeanour barely reflecting a team that was briefly the world No. 1. Manjrekar says, the team will have to up its ante if they have to succeed on South Africa’s wickets.
Manjrekar did not agree with India’s team selection on Monday. According to him, Praveen Kumar should have found a place in the playing XI. “His slow-medium swing bowling would have proved to be a little difficult for batsmen, especially with a new ball,” Manjrekar explained.
All in all, Team India showed that they can perform when it matters most.
Manjrekar feels that if Dhoni’s men can tie a few loose ends, then it will be no time before they bounce back as favourites to win the Champions Trophy.
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