Commentators Sanjay Manjrekar and Veron Philander were critical of the captaincy by Rohit Sharma in the first session of Day 2 of the Cape Town Test. Manjrekar pointed at the “big mistake” that Rohit made which in turn allowed Aiden Markram to settle in and slam a thunderous century.
South Africa were bowled out for 176 – which is the highest innings total in this match on a tough surface – setting India a target of 79 runs to win the Cape Town Test and level the series.
However, this could have been much less if not for the “big mistake” that Rohit Sharma made by not bowling Mohammed Siraj at the start of the day.
South Africa started Day 2 at Newlands at the score of 62/3, still trailing by 36 runs. Rohit gave the ball to Jasprit Bumrah from one end and Mukesh Kumar from the other end. While Bumrah took a sensational five-wicket haul, even he couldn’t dismiss Aiden Markram.
Once Bumrah was off, Markram tore into the other three Indian seamers – Siraj, Mukesh, and Prasidh. He cracked 17 fours and 2 sixes in his incredible hundred.
He got to a memorable century, which many fans hailed as one of the greatest Test hundreds ever considering how treacherous the pitch has behaved in this Test. Eventually, Siraj dismissed him, as he top-edged a pull shot.
In the commentary box, Sanjay Manjrekar was left baffled at Rohit Sharma’s tactics. Manjrekar pointed out that Siraj had dismissed Markram twice in the previous two innings in this series, yet, Rohit didn’t start Day 2 with Siraj.
“He didn’t start the day with Mohammed Siraj, who took 6 wickets in the first innings. Mukesh Kumar has bowled more than him. It is a big mistake by Rohit. Siraj has dismissed Aiden a couple of times and he should have bowl instead of Mukesh,” Sanjay Manjrekar said on Star Sports.
What a 100 by markram 👏👏 his best one yet without a doubt. #SAvIND
— Herschelle Gibbs (@hershybru) January 4, 2024
Rohit Sharma has been shocking as a captain this morning: Veron Philander
Former Protea pacer Veron Philander was shocked by Rohit’s field setting to Markram.
“Rohit Sharma has been shocking as a captain this morning. Look at his defensive field placements. He is allowing Aiden Markram to score freely. Rohit is not looking to dismiss the batter. He is bringing the fielders inside the 30-yard circle only on the last two balls of every over,” Philander said.
“Aiden knows that easy runs are on offer and he can play big shots on the fifth and sixth deliveries. He should have kept the fielders inside to create more pressure on Markram.”
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