New Delhi: The dying embers of the recently concluded ICC T20 World Cup are still creating excitement and jitters amongst analysts and fans worldwide. Team India lifted the T20 World Cup in Barbados after a long wait of 17 years.
It also marked the end of a beautiful chapter in the T20Is for Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma and Ravindra Jadeja. On the other hand, Rahul Dravid stepped down from his role as head coach.
Manjrekar did not have the following players in his squad
Kohli – POTM in final
Pandya – The clutchest of the lot this WC
Axar – POTM in semi final
Arshdeep – Leading wicket taker in the WCLet’s all laugh at the idiot that Manjrekar is. pic.twitter.com/6vG0gKWBfg
— ParteekNotPrateek (@randomcricfacts) June 30, 2024
It was not a one-sided affair with South Africa looking to regain things in their favour. However, Jasprit Bumrah, Arshdeep Singh and Hardik Pandya ensured that India walked away with a win. Earlier, batting first, Virat Kohli set the tone for Team India with a blistering knock of 76 off 59 balls. Eventually, Kohli was awarded the Man of the Match award for his contributions in the finals.
“India was in a losing position!..” Manjarekar on India’s win
Although everyone was smiling at this epic triumph, it seems not everyone was happy with Kohli’s award. In the post-match conference, former Indian cricketer Sanjay Manjarekar commented that Indian ‘bowlers’ deserve more credit than the batsmen. Furthermore, Manjarekar went on to add that Kohli’s measured innings put fellow batsman in a tough spot with very few balls to play.
Sanjay Manjrekar praising Rohit Sharma. Everyone is going crazy for him.🥺❤️pic.twitter.com/YftbvOI3Hj
— 𝐇𝐲𝐝𝐫𝐨𝐠𝐞𝐧 𝕏 (@ImHydro45) June 30, 2024
“By playing that innings, Hardik Pandya, one of their most devastating batters, had just two balls to face. So I thought India’s batting was good, but Virat Kohli had potentially played an innings that would’ve put India in a tight corner. And it almost proved to be that, before these guys’ bowlers came in the end.
Former Indian cricketer Sanjay Manjrekar stated that Indian bowlers “saved” Virat Kohli in the T20 World Cup 2024 final against South Africa where the right-handed batter scored 76 runs on 59 balls.
He also stated that his Player of the Match would have been a bowler instead of… pic.twitter.com/OqkDT15H0n
— Nawaz 🇵🇰 (@Rnawaz31888) July 1, 2024
According to Manjarekar, the main credit for India’s win should go to the Indian bowlers. Therefore, he suggests that the Man of the Match award should have been awarded to either Bumrah, Arshdeep or Pandya. However, former Zimbabwean cricketer Andy Flower completely disagreed with Manjarekar! and said that Kohli’s innings was instrumental in India’s win in the finals.
