Former India cricketer Sanjay Manjrekar believes that the conditions in Dubai played a major role in India’s loss to New Zealand in the Women’s T20 World Cup 2024. Sanjay Manjrekar feels that India could have done much better if the match would have been played in Sharjah instead of Dubai. .
India suffered a humiliating defeat at the hands of New Zealand in the group stage of the Women’s T20 World Cup 2024. New Zealand batted first and scored a commanding 160-4 thanks to a magnificent 57 off 36 balls from captain Sophie Devine and 34 with 23 balls from opener Georgia Plimmer.
In response, the Indian batsmen struggled to get going as they lost wickets at regular intervals. Captain Harmanpreet Kaur top-scored with 15, which shows the performance of the batting line-up. India were bowled out for just 102 runs, thus losing the match by 58 runs.
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Sanjay Manjrekar reveals why India lost to New Zealand
While speaking to Star Sports after the match, Sanjay Manjrekar reviewed the game and shared his opinion on India’s performance. Manjrekar felt that the conditions in Dubai were more suited to New Zealand and they made the most of them.
“The start was not good in the bowling because the first one or two overs were very expensive, and even in the batting. If I have to review this match, the conditions in Dubai for this match were very suitable for New Zealand,” said Sanjay Manjrekar. .
New Zealand had an opening stand of 67 runs in just 7.4 overs, which set the tone for the rest of the batsmen to follow. Despite a brief comeback by the Indian bowlers in the mid-overs, the White Ferns mostly dominated during the innings.
“Conditions were like New Zealand” – Sanjay Manjrekar
The former India batsman congratulated New Zealand for the victory and felt India were trying too hard to hit fours and sixes. He further added that India could have won if the match had been played in Sharjah as the conditions in Dubai were like those in Dunedin.
“Firstly, congratulations to New Zealand, the conditions were like New Zealand, and the Indian batsmen were trying too hard to win the match with fours and sixes, and they were also hitting straight, which was probably not the right shot in this field,” said Sanjay Manjrekar.
“If this match had been in Sharjah, the result could have been totally different because if you look at this ground, it looked like they weren’t playing in Dubai, but Dunedin and New Zealand made the most of it. They played very full. They didn’t. “No. We will not release a single short delivery,” he said.
Seam conditions worry India in Dubai
The conditions in New Zealand were very conducive to bowling, as the ball moved continuously under the lights. New Zealand’s medium pacers were given enough help and continued to trouble the Indian batsmen throughout the innings.
Unlike Dubai, Sharjah is more known for its spin-friendly surfaces and this has been evident in this tournament as well. This was also the first time India played a match on this ground.
With this defeat, India’s chances of progressing to the next stage of the tournament have taken a big hit. The Women in Blue will now take on Pakistan in the much-awaited clash on October 6.