For the third time in five days of the first Test match between India and England at the Chepauk Stadium, the tables have turned in favour of the two sides thanks to the drastically altering Chennai pitch as the touring side looks to be in the driving seat once again.
With the inception of Day 5, the top and middle-order batsmen of the Men in Blue started losing their wickets in quick progression. Starting with the early dismissal of Cheteshwar Pujara in the 20th over, Shubman Gill in the 27th over, Rishabh Pant in the 33rd over and Washington Sundar in the 34th over.
What a photo
What a delivery
Highlights: https://t.co/x6rSV8YlnZ
🇮🇳 #INDvENG pic.twitter.com/RbDrCVJtbM
However, the wicket that caught the attention of the fans the most was the two-delivery duck for deputy in command, Ajinkya Rahane, who was left hapless by a killer in-swing by England veteran pacer James Anderson.
And even though fans were disappointed with Rahane’s stint in the middle, the thing that shook them even more was the fact that they ended up agreeing with a ‘hot take’ by controversial commentator and analyst Sanjay Manjrekar.
My issue with Rahane the captain is Rahane the batsman.
After that 100 in Melbourne his scores are - 27*, 22, 4, 37, 24, 1 & 0. After a 100, class players carry their form & carry the burden of players out of form. #INDvENG
“My issue with Rahane the captain is Rahane the batsman. After that 100 in Melbourne his scores are - 27*, 22, 4, 37, 24, 1 & 0. After a 100, class players carry their form & carry the burden of players out of form,” Manjrekar tweeted.
Giving credit to Rahane’s brilliance as the leader of the Indian squad in red-ball cricket and acknowledging the incredible feat the team achieved under his captaincy back in Australia, Manjrekar showed dissent towards his batting.
Fans nodded to Manjrekar’s comments and even advocated it with opinions of their own but weren’t too happy about doing so:
Sanju with a good take https://t.co/fNzHJLujTz pic.twitter.com/KUs2axDF2I
— Rohan (@Utdsheep) February 9, 2021The only time I agree with you! https://t.co/wT7zSkckbc
— Indian Political League (@PangaMatLae) February 9, 2021Pehli bar kuch Shi bola https://t.co/3FH7kChH8r
— Deepak Gaur (@ideepmatizen) February 9, 2021Have to agree with him for once. Rahane produces a good innings once a while and has never been consistent. https://t.co/Pxo68yDRQB
— Rakesh Sourirajan (@raksourirajan) February 9, 2021Other than the century Rahane made in a match winning innings back in Melbourne during the second Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, Rahane had struggled to be of much value to the Indian batting order during the Australia tour and seems to be haunted by similar woes after coming back to India for the England series.
England won the first of the four Tests by 227 runs behind an excellent double century by skipper Joe Root and some brilliant performances with the ball by James Anderson and Jack Leach in the second innings.
0 Comments
Recommended Comments
There are no comments to display.
Join the conversation
You are posting as a guest. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.