Sanjay Manjrekar feels that England’s victory in the first match in Hyderabad encouraged India to build better surfaces for the next four games of the just finished five-match series.
According to the former cricketer, the visitors overpowered India on a rank-turner, prompting the hosts to avoid playing on similar fields in following matches. Speaking with ESPNcricinfo, Manjrekar stated:
“England made sure that India prepared better pitches. Better pitches in the sense that pitches that didn’t turn as much, because of what they did in Hyderabad. I think that was a fantastic win, and that’s the big takeaway for England in the way they beat India in the very first exposure on a typical turner.”
Sanjay Manjrekar
Sanjay Manjrekar added:
“You saw the Indian spinners for the first time rattled in a home series in the way the England batters played, and 420 in the second innings by England on that pitch just made sure that India didn’t again venture making another turner like that.”
Sanjay Manjrekar
The first Test in Hyderabad ended with England winning by 28 runs. India didn’t let that early loss get to them. They claimed the following four wins leading to a 4-1 series win.
“Complacency as a trait in Indian cricket disappeared a long time back” – Sanjay Manjrekar
The recently finished fifth Test in Dharamsala was a dead rubber, since India had already built an unbeatable 3-1 lead heading into the match.
Sanjay Manjrekar stated that, despite the home team dominated the series, he did not anticipate them to be complacent in the final test. He suggested that India’s strategy has altered dramatically since Virat Kohli took over as captain from MS Dhoni, saying:
“Complacency as a trait in Indian cricket disappeared a long time back. Post MS Dhoni, when Virat Kohli took charge of the Indian team, and when going was also tough, the spirits have never been down with that Indian team, and you see that especially when they are in the field. So, that was not going to happen.”
Sanjay Manjrekar
The Men in Blue won the Dharamsala Test by an innings and 64 runs. They presently lead the World Test Championship (WTC) points Table, having won six of their nine games during the 2023-25 season.
