India suffered a major setback in the Super 8 match of the T20 World Cup played in Ahmedabad. The South Africa national cricket team defeated Team India by 76 runs.
This defeat is being described as India’s biggest loss in T20 World Cup history. Following this loss, the defending champions are in danger of being eliminated from the semi-final race.
Manjrekar Questions Gambhir’s Strategy
Former Indian batsman Sanjay Manjrekar openly questioned head coach Gautam Gambhir’s strategy. He particularly criticized the decision to send Washington Sundar at number 5.
On a CNN-News18 show, he said, “Kailas Jeevan, there used to be a medicine by that name back in the day. If you had a headache, you would use it. If you had a stomach issue, you would take it.”
He then took a direct dig at him, saying, “It was an all-in-one remedy. Gautam Gambhir seems to have an all-in-one solution for everything too, Washington Sundar.”
Manjrekar didn’t stop there. He added, “If there’s a batting problem, Washi. If there’s a bowling problem, Washi. He was promoted up the order to No. 5 today, and then Rinku Singh and Hardik Pandya walked in at No. 7. It was just too much.”
He clearly believes that the team management experimented too much, and the team suffered the consequences.
Slower Balls Became India’s Biggest Weakness
In the match, the South African bowlers troubled the Indian batsmen by varying their speed. The batsmen looked particularly uncomfortable with the slower balls. Manjrekar made a clear statement on this as well.
He said, “Forget fast bowling, focus on playing the slower balls. They are not able to handle slower balls or spinners. The captain is struggling the most against slower deliveries.”
Now, Team India’s next match is against the Zimbabwe national cricket team. To keep the semifinal hopes alive, not just a win, but a big win will be necessary to improve the net run rate.
The pressure on the points table is clearly visible, and the team will need to make immediate improvements in every department.
