Sanjay Manjrekar blamed India’s batting against spin bowling for their defeat in the three-match Test series against New Zealand. The Tom Latham-led side took an unassailable 2-0 lead in the three-match series by winning the second Test in Pune on Saturday, October 26.

Manjrekar said that if the Indian top order had more confidence, flexibility and strength to defend against the spinners, India could have chased down the target of 359 runs in the fourth innings. He also said that Gill clearly does not have the experience of playing spinners.

Sanjay Manjrekar gave a big statement

Let us tell you that after India’s defeat in the Pune Test match, Sanjay Manjrekar quoted ESPN Cricinfo as saying – When Yashasvi and Shubman were going to bat together, I thought there would be a surprise. Shubman Gill clearly does not have experience with spinners. A batsman who can work with his footwork effortlessly is clearly under pressure when he plays spinners on turning pitches.

Manjrekar further said- Virat Kohli once again failed to understand the length. The ball was fuller than he expected and came back to him quickly. Rohit Sharma was not full of confidence at the crease. There are a lot of players, three out of the top four lacked confidence against spin.

On such pitches, you see that it is difficult to bat against spin in the first one and a half sessions. I think if India had strengthened its defense technology a little more, things could have been easier. Had India not lost so many wickets early, with Rishabh Pant, Washington Sundar and Ravindra Jadeja in the side, this match could have been much closer.