Cricket
World Cup Final: Maybe if it was a league match, India would have played differently, says Sanjay Manjrekar
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Former India cricketer-turned-commentator Sanjay Manjrekar reckons that the pressure of the 2023 World Cup final might have forced the Indian team to adopt a defensive approach against the Australians. Manjrekar added that Australia skillfully exploited weaknesses in India’s batting lineup, securing a decisive victory by six wickets and clinching their sixth World Cup title.
The absence of key all-rounder Hardik Pandya sorely highlighted India’s ‘lack of batting depth’ in the World Cup final in Ahmedabad. With half the team dismissed by the 36th over, India only managed to set a modest target of 241 for Australia.
“India felt the pressure of not having depth; you know, those little chinks in India’s armour came to the fore,” Manjrekar told Star Sports.
After Pandya was ruled out of the World Cup 2023 due to a twisted ankle during India’s fourth league match against Bangladesh, India made two changes, bringing in Suryakumar Yadav and Mohammed Shami for the remaining matches.
Shami’s addition significantly strengthened the bowling lineup. However, Suryakumar struggled throughout the ODI World Cup 2023, scoring only 106 runs across seven innings. His average was 17.67, with a strike-rate of 100.95, reflecting a disappointing performance.
“The batting depth wasn’t there, and you saw the way KL Rahul played a bulk of the innings with the knowledge that there isn’t much batting to come,” Manjrekar said without mentioning any name.
“Well, India had certain limitations that they had covered beautifully throughout the tournament, with Jadeja at number 7 and their batting finishing at number 6,” he added.
Manjrekar further said the pressure of the final had a part to play in India’s capitulation.
“Just imagine this game was a league match between Sri Lanka and India; would India have taken that risk? Maybe yes, that is where perhaps temperament comes in, and maybe, if it was a league match, India would have played differently,” he said.
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