Mumbai: Speaking on ‘Match Centre Live’ following the completion of Day 5 of the first Test of India’s tour of England, JioHotstar expert Sanjay Manjrekar shared his assessment of England’s bold fourth-innings approach under Ben Stokes’ leadership:
“Hats off to this England side led by Ben Stokes. They’ve taken what used to be a taboo in Test cricket — that chasing 250 or 300-plus in the final innings is near impossible — and completely turned it on its head. Regardless of pitch conditions or pressure, they’ve looked that belief in the face and said: We’re going to think differently. They’ve begun treating those targets as achievable. And guess what — even on Day 5, it’s the fielding team that ends up feeling more pressure, because now, they’re the ones who have to ensure a win. That’s the mental shift. Once you start challenging long-standing beliefs and inherited wisdom, you then need the kind of batters we saw today to actually pull it off. Joe Root, of course — always there when England are chasing down something big. But the platform was set beautifully by Ben Duckett and Zak Crawley. Unfortunately for India, I have to say, the pitch went completely flat during the morning session. Bumrah gave it everything, so did the other seamers, but the surface just went to sleep. Suddenly, it started playing like a Arun Jaitley Stadium day-five pitch — completely dead. And that’s what made India’s job of winning the game so much harder.”
Sanjay Manjrekar backed the pacers but felt Jadeja missed an opportunity to exploit the rough:
“It’s not fair to be overly critical of younger players like Prasidh Krishna — there are obvious areas for improvement. But I am going to be critical of Ravindra Jadeja. This was a final-day pitch with rough patches for him to exploit. And while there were a couple of chances, we have to expect more from someone of his experience. These weren’t typical English conditions where the pitch offers nothing. I felt he didn’t use the rough nearly enough — especially against Ben Duckett. Against Ben Stokes, yes, he did make an effort. But it was only much later in Duckett’s innings that Jadeja started using the rough properly. When you’re dealing with experienced bowlers and seasoned batters, you expect a higher level of tactical awareness. Somewhere, I felt Jadeja was disappointing. The seamers had no help from the surface — but Jadeja at least had something in the pitch working in his favour.”
Sanjay Manjrekar lauded England’s clinical final-day chase while praising India’s resilient fightback:
“Duckett and Crawley took their time — they respected the conditions, and they respected the fact that the opposition had a guy named Jasprit Bumrah. In that first hour, there was absolutely no sign of ‘Bazball’. They simply played old-fashioned, sensible Test cricket. Later in the session, when the run-rate began to improve, it wasn’t because they suddenly decided to shift gears. It was more a case of the Indian bowlers tiring on a surface that wasn’t offering much. Just before the weather break, Prasidh Krishna picked up a couple of wickets, and that’s what stands out about this young Indian side — it’s not like they only impressed with the bat earlier in the match and then faded away. Day 5, India started with the game roughly 70–30 in their favour. Then came that solid partnership, and it was suddenly 50–50. Prasidh’s double strike swung the match again in India’s direction. And though the game started slipping, Shardul Thakur came in and gave India fresh hope. So, it wasn’t a case of England dominating from start to finish. India were still pressing for a win late into the final day — proving they’re a tough side to beat, even in these conditions.”
Sanjay Manjrekar reflected on Joe Root’s match-winning composure during England’s successful chase on Day 5:
“This is something he’s made a habit of — even in another format. In 50-over cricket recently, he played a brilliant innings where he remained 160 not out in a big run chase, and the next-best contribution in that innings was around 50 or 60. That’s Joe Root — one of the all-time greats. It’s always good to see players like Joe Root and Kane Williamson in Test cricket. We don’t get to watch them enough in this part of the world, and when we do, we’re reminded of the calibre of batters operating around the globe. A couple of years ago, Williamson played some all-time great Test innings, and here was Root once again giving us a glimpse of his mastery — how easily he saw England through. They had just lost Ben Stokes. If India had managed to get Root at that point, there would’ve been a bit of clutter and panic in the England camp. But Joe Root — he has his roots firmly embedded in the pitch. It’s very hard to dislodge him once he’s set. That’s what makes him so special.”
Sanjay Manjrekar strongly advocated for India to rethink their combination for the next Test in England, especially when it comes to prioritising quality spin over conventional seam-heavy line-ups:
“I think Kuldeep Yadav has to come back. I’m sorry to say, but Shardul Thakur has to go out. That is one change India will have to make. As for Nitish Kumar Reddy — I backed him for the first Test purely based on what he did in Australia. It’s an unpopular choice, because when he comes in, the balance does get affected a bit. He won’t quite bowl like a fourth seamer, so India needs to take a hard call: even in English conditions, they must go with quality bowlers. If that means playing two spinners, so be it. Pick your best bowlers, irrespective of the conditions. You don’t have the luxury of someone like Mohammed Shami available, or the full-strength pace battery, so I’d go one seamer short and bring Kuldeep Yadav into the XI. He has to play. Let’s also acknowledge that English summers these days are largely dry — thanks to global warming, perhaps — and that does open the door for spin. In a way, it’s time to reintroduce the idea of India playing spin in England. Ben Stokes has already changed the narrative with common-sense, aggressive cricket. India needs to embrace the same clarity. There was a time when India would play three spinners no matter what — whether in New Zealand or England. If Kuldeep is in your squad, play him. Don’t go with seamers just because you’re playing in England. I’d drop one seamer and bring in Kuldeep Yadav.”
