Sanjay Manjrekar questions Indian batsmen for their tactics against Moeen Ali in the second ODI

Sanjay Manjrekar, the former Indian cricketer, has lashed out at the Men in Blue’s batters for their approach against Moeen Ali in the second ODI on Friday at the MCA Stadium in Pune. Moeen turned out to be the most economical bowler on the day as he gave away a mere 47 runs in the 10 overs he bowled.

Even as the other bowlers gave runs at more than six per over, Moeen was able to keep a check on the run-scoring. Manjrekar was unhappy with the fact that the Indian batters allowed Moeen to settle down even on a batting-friendly strip. He said that India need to analyse their performance and learn from their mistakes.

Sanjay Manjrekar asks India to learn from their mistakes

“Moeen Ali bowled 10 overs for 47 runs in today’s batting conditions. It wasn’t because he bowled brilliantly it was more because Ind didn’t really go after him. Ind would look back at that as a grave mistake not to be repeated in similar conditions,” he wrote.

Manjrekar also lauded England for their batting on Friday night. “Quality of opposition’s batting an important consideration when assessing par score along with pitch and ground conditions. Lesson learnt for India tonight,” Manjrekar wrote in his post.

India posted 336 runs on the board on the back of KL Rahul’s century. Virat Kohli and Rishabh Pant also chipped in with half-centuries. However, Jonny Bairstow’s century and Ben Stokes’ 99 got the hosts on the mat. In the end, the Three Lions chased the target down with 39 balls to spare.

Virat Kohli, the Indian skipper, lauded Bairstow and Stokes for their power-hitting during the run-chase. “I think we set up quite a decent total. It was going to be challenging if we stayed in the game for long periods.

“We started off well with the new ball, with our lines and lengths but England found a way to hang on and got a century partnership. We did falter a bit at times but mostly, that was some of the best hitting that you’ll ever see,” the 32-year-old was quoted as saying in the post-match presentation ceremony.