Watch: Rohit Sharma continues to fall for spin with poor defense in Pune Test

Rohit Sharma (Source: X/Twitter)

Rohit Sharma’s struggle against the spin continued in the second innings of the Pune Test. As India chased a stiff target of 359 runs, Rohit along with Yashasvi Jaiswal commenced the innings on a positive note. He looked in good touch against the likes of Tim Southee and William O’Rourke and defended them in his usual manner.

He scored a sole boundary of spinner, Mitchell Santner in his 15 balls stay. But his lack of defence against spin was on display as he was dismissed on the subsequent delivery. The length ball from Santner generated ample bounce and the India opener tried to block the ball only to get an inside edge. He concluded his stay scoring eight runs off 16 balls as India lost their first wicket on 34 runs.

Here’s the video of Rohit’s dismissal:

Rohit just maybe has to tighten his defence a little more: Sanjay Manjrekar

The India captain’s evolving struggle against the spin was highlighted when he was dismissed by Mehidy Hasan Miraz twice in the same Test during the Bangladesh series. The right-handed batter has failed to come among runs since he resumed professional cricket after a T20 World Cup win. Former India cricketer, Sanjay Manjrekar was swift to notice the trend of Rohit’s dismissal and advised the veteran to work on his technique.

Also Read: Sanjay Manjrekar dissects Rohit Sharma’s struggle in Tests

“Yes, the defence is a concern. Temperamentally, this guy is brilliant. He just maybe has to tighten his defence a little more. And I saw that happen in the second innings in the last Test,” Manjrekar was saying as quoted by TOI.

“He looked good, but clearly in the first innings, when there is a little bit in the pitch that same… We used to talk about Rohit Sharma’s loose defence at the start of his international career. He would not take a step forward and would just react with the bat. That is starting to happen [again],” Manjrekar had added.

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