IND vs ENG: 'Only on flat pitches...', what did Manjrekar say about Indian batsmen? He also spoke about Pant's injury

Posted on 24th Jul 2025 by rohit kumar

Former Indian cricketer and commentator Sanjay Manjrekar has praised the Indian batting in Manchester. He believes that India's young batsmen performed brilliantly in adverse conditions on the first day of the fourth Test cricket match against England and proved that they do not score runs only against flat pitches or weak attacks. By the end of the first day's play, India had scored 264 runs for the loss of four wickets in their first innings.

 

Openers Yashasvi Jaiswal (58) and KL Rahul (46) gave India a solid start. Both of them shared a 94-run partnership for the first wicket. After this, Sai Sudarshan (61) and Rishabh Pant (retired hurt on 37 runs) shared a 72-run partnership, which helped the Indian team cross 250 on the first day. Ravindra Jadeja and Shardul Thakur are unbeaten on 19-19 runs.

 

Manjrekar said on Jio Hotstar, 'The first day of the Manchester Test was a befitting reply to those who believe that this young Indian batting order only scores runs on flat pitches or against a weak attack. Such conditions are usually found in England, and their bowling attack also looked stronger than before. Ben Stokes again bowled more overs, while Liam Dawson bowled better than Shoaib Bashir. Jofra Archer was giving more strength to his bowling.'

 

Manjrekar said, 'India's scoring 264 runs for four wickets on the first day in these conditions is another solid batting performance. Thankfully, Rishabh Pant lasted for some time before retiring hurt. Hopefully, he will come back to bat on the second day.' Sudarshan, playing his second Test, scored his first half-century after returning to the playing XI after not playing in the second and third matches of the series.

 

Manjrekar said, 'He looked nervous in the beginning, which is natural after being dropped from the team after the first Test. This can affect his confidence, but as the game progressed, his confidence also increased and he batted brilliantly.'

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