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Cricket Players'In his prime, Kohli would never give you that chance': Manjrekar dismayed at 'greedy' Rohit after WTC Final dismissal
Sanjay Manjrekar wasn't too happy with the way Rohit Sharma gave his wicket away in the second innings of the WTC Final.
Team India endured quick setbacks in a mammoth 444-run chase against Australia in the World Test Championship final, losing the wickets of Rohit Sharma (43) and Cheteshwar Pujara (27) rather cheaply in the final session of Day 4. After Shubman Gill was controversially adjudged out earlier in the innings, Rohit, alongside Pujara, had been steering the Indian innings with a positive intent. Rohit looked set for a big score but threw his wicket away against Nathan Lyon, as he attempted a sweep shot – only to miss the ball that eventually hit his pads.
Rohit reviewed the leg before call unsuccessfully; shortly after, Pujara was also dismissed while attempting an uncharacteristic ramp shot.
Also read: 'That's the last shot you want to play': Shastri hammers Rohit, shocked at Pujara's 'get out' shot in furious rant
Former India batter Sanjay Manjrekar spoke about Rohit Sharma's dismissal in great detail, stating that the India opener became “greedy” as he faced Lyon and hadn't put a foot wrong througout his innings before the dismissal.
“Rohit Sharma didn't put a foot wrong. T20 and Test match have absolutely no connection. He struggled in IPL, but come Test cricket, he didn't put a foot wrong unless that happened. It happened when a spinner came on after the three quality spinners went out. You suddenly felt there's a chance to get some runs and a T20 shot came out of the psyche of Rohit Sharma,” Manjrekar told ESPNCricinfo.
“The ball came straight, it was nothing special. Maybe, there was a lapse of concentration, a bit too eager for runs. Once he went down on his knees, much to his chagrin, it was shorter than he would've liked. He became greedy to pick up a few runs.”
Manjrekar further drew a comparison, stating that a prime Virat Kohli would never allow the bowlers a chance once he was set at the crease, and that differs him from Rohit.
"With some batters, you can say there's a genuine problem of lapse of concentration. This is a guy who got two hundreds in his first two innings of his Test career. He knows how to get the big scores. Even against England in the four Tests, he got 100 and a a 80, and looked a million-dollar right through the series.
“This wasn't him losing the concentration. There's some difference in Rohit Sharma playing in that fashion, against somebody like Virat Kohli in his prime. He was never going to give you a chance, once he's in, he's in. 4 hundreds against Australia in 2014... that's what Kohli did,” Manjrekar stated.
