'India's middle-order looked little short': Manjrekar suggests 'wholesome' change after batting collapse in Paarl

The Indian innings plunged after Kohli's departure to go from 152/3 to 214/8 and eventually fall short of the South African total by 31 runs.

India's inexplicable middle-order collapse after half-centuries from Shikhar Dhawan and Virat Kohli saw the team endure a 31-run defeat against South Africa in the first ODI of the three-match series. Chasing 297 for victory, India were off to a promising start with Dhawan adding 51 and Kohli also scoring the same number of runs in his first game after relinquishing Test captaincy.

Sanjay Manjrekar (Getty Images)

But the Indian innings plunged after Kohli's departure to go from 152/3 to 214/8 and eventually fall short of the South African total by 31 runs. Venkatesh Iyer, who made his debut, perished after scoring just two in South African conditions.

Following India's defeat and their batting slump, Sanjay Manjrekar has called for the inclusion of Suryakumar Yadav in the team composition, saying that the middle-order looked a bit short on batting. Contributions from Rishabh Pant (16 off 22 balls) and Shreyas Iyer (17 from 17 deliveries) did not count for much as India ended up with 265 for eight in 50 overs.

"I've maintained that India's middle-order looked a little short on batting when you have somebody like a Rishabh Pant batting at 5 and a Venky Iyer in a very unfamiliar role. You know, for a newcomer to bat down at No. 6 on a pitch that's going to be dry and getting slow further. There wasn't much of a threat down the order so I thought they should have made a place for somebody like Suryakumar Yadav... I guess a few little tweaks will have to be done to make sure that the middle looks a little more wholesome," Manjrekar told ESPNcricinfo after the game.

Suryakumar, who had made his ODI debut against Sri Lanka in July last year, was pipped by Shreyas after the team management went with the youngster for the No. 5 batting spot.

Manjrekar also said that India were pushed on the backfoot after the opposition put up a total that was beyond 250. Temba Bavuma and Rassie van der Dussen hit centuries to steer South Africa to an intimidating 296 for four after winning the toss and batting on a slow pitch.

"Just far too many runs to chase, especially in a day game where the pitch wasn't going the get easier for the batters chasing and the ball wasn't going to get wet because of the dew... There was some hope at the start but somebody had to carry the bat through the innings. Shikhar Dhawan got out after being set, Virat Kohli as well. It was always going to be difficult... I think India lost the game when they allowed the opposition to go beyond 250," Manjrekar further said.