Renowned commentator and former India batsman Sanjay Manjrekar has revealed an incident from way back in the year 1990 when the legendary Geoffrey Boycott denied him a Man-of-the-Match award in a game against England. India had beaten England by six wickets in the first ODI, with Anil Kumble picking up 2/29 from 11 overs, and Manjrekar scoring a crucial 82 helping India chase down 233. While both had contributed significantly towards India winning, the commentary panel went ahead with and picked Kumble for the MOM trophy.
"The commentary panel generally gets the job of picking the Man of the Match. When I am not doing commentary, sometimes I get a little frustrated when someone else should be given the award. I have a principle that the player who helped put the team in a match-winning position should be given the Man of the Match," Manjrekar told SportsKeeda.
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"This happened in 1990, India vs England, it was a match in Headingley, Leeds. There used to be 55-over matches at the time. England batted first and scored 229 runs, less runs. Anil Kumble was on his first tour and in that match, he bowled 11 overs and gave only 29 runs and took two wickets, one was Robin Smith and the other David Gower."
Manjrekar added since it was common for batsmen successfully pulling off a chase, the decision was all the more surprising. He said that he felt the award was his given the congratulations he had received from his teammates, but had another thing coming. Boycott had Kumble in mind, and the former England captain made sure was conveyed the message to Manjrekar in the most straight-forward way.
{{/usCountry}}Manjrekar added since it was common for batsmen successfully pulling off a chase, the decision was all the more surprising. He said that he felt the award was his given the congratulations he had received from his teammates, but had another thing coming. Boycott had Kumble in mind, and the former England captain made sure was conveyed the message to Manjrekar in the most straight-forward way.
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"And when we went for the chase, I probably scored 82 runs and was there almost till the end, got out probably near the end and we won that match. Usually, we see that a batsman who wins the match while chasing is favoured for the Player of the Match award. So, when the match got over, it was in my mind that I probably will be the Player of the Match and a couple of people also congratulated me," Manjrekar added.
"Geoffrey Boycott was supposed to give the Player of the Match in that match. He did a very good thing. He came into the dressing room after the match and came straight to me and said - 'Well played young man. I think your innings was very important. Well done but the player who won you the game today was the bowler Anil Kumble. He bowled 11 overs, two wickets for 29 runs and England lost the game because they didn't put enough runs on the board' - he said that right on my face."