After taking jibe at Virat Kohli on Thursday, Sanjay Manjrekar went after Rohit Sharma captaincy with MS Dhoni remark. Manjrekar highlighted a big loophole in Rohit's captaincy stating that he needs to bring in MS Dhoni's quality to preempt and make bowling changes. The comment comes after Rohit's error of judgement allowed New Zealand to take complete control of the opening test at Chinnaswamy stadium.
Taking to X he wrote, "Dhoni had this very unique ability to preempt & make a bowling change before the damage went out of control. Rohit needs to bring that quality into his leadership,"
Dhoni had this very unique ability to preempt & make a bowling change before the damage went out of control. Rohit needs to bring that quality into his leadership. #IndvNz
— Sanjay Manjrekar (@sanjaymanjrekar) October 18, 2024
After the end of play on Day 2, Rohit admitted during the press conference that he was at fault for India's poor situation in the match. He said, "We thought it wouldn't help the seamers much after the first session or so. There wasn't much grass either. We expected it to be much flatter than it turned out to be. It was a misjudgment on my part, and I couldn't read the pitch well. I am hurting to see this score of 46 as a captain as it was my call to bat first. But one or two bad calls in a year is quite alright,"
India vs New Zealand ay 3 highlights so far
After poor batting performance India were able to bowl out New Zealand for 402 runs. The star of Kiwi innings was Rachin Ravindra who scored a brilliant 134 runs. Tim Southee made important contribution of 65 runs lower down the order.
India entered Day 3 desperate to get early wickets. Mohammed Siraj provided the first of the day, removing Daryl Mitchell. Jasprit Bumrah followed up by dismissing Tom Blundell, giving India hope as they began to claw their way back into the contest. Rachin Ravindra, however, continued to bat solidly but saw partners fall at the other end, with Ravindra Jadeja accounting for both Glenn Phillips and Matt Henry.
New Zealand captain Tim Southee then stepped up, offering valuable resistance. He countered India’s spinners effectively, allowing Rachin to open up and play more aggressively. Southee was dismissed by Siraj before Kuldeep wrapped up New Zeland innings with wicket of Ravindra.