Former India cricketer Sanjay Manjrekar on Wednesday backed captain Virat Kohli's decision to send Hardik Pandya ahead of MS Dhoni against New Zealand in the first semi-final of the ICC Men's Cricket World Cup.
Manjrekar in a tweet explained that India captain Kohli preferred attack over defence to get out of the pressure piled on by Kiwi bowlers.
"Ok let me try & guess why Virat has sent Hardik ahead of Dhoni. Given a choice between attack & defence, Virat will always choose attack to get out of a tight spot. Hence Pandya ahead of Dhoni," Manjrekar tweeted.
New Zealand fast bowler Matt Henry rattled the Indian top-order and dismissed Rohit Sharma (1), KL Rahul (1) and Dinesh Karthik (6). While paceman Trent Boult got rid of Kohli (1), reducing India to 24/4 after 10 overs.
Manjrekar further said that it was okay to lose the wickets of Kohli and Rohit. However, questioned the dismissal of Rahul and Karthik, saying too much time was invested in the return of Rahul and Karthik.
"It's ok for Virat to get out, it's ok for Rohit to get out, not ok for people like Rahul and Karthik to get out like this...too much time has been invested in them for limited returns," Manjrekar wrote.
New Zealand posted 239 runs for the loss of eight wickets a day after rain interrupted the match. Ross Taylor and Kane Williamson played the knocks of 74 and 67, respectively. For India, pacer Bhuvneshwar Kumar was the pick of bowlers as he bagged three wickets in his 10 overs quota.
( With inputs from ANI )
