Team India celebrate taking the win over Bangladesh in the first Test in Chennai. (Image: Sportzpics)
Sanjay Manjrekar believes that the traditional notion that the Indian team thrives on spin-friendly tracks cannot apply as this Indian team have proven themselves in all kinds of conditions.
The former Indian cricketer-turned-pundit lauded India’s dominance at home in the longest format. He believes that the traditional way of thinking India dominates when playing under turning conditions should not apply as the team has proven themselves in all kinds of conditions when playing at home.
Manjrekar speaking to ESPNCricinfo, hopes that his former side can continue maintaining their dominant streak in home conditions. He also believes that despite the results, Bangladesh had a real threat to them with regard to their spin attack.
“Just that India maintain their dominance at home, beating Australia, you know, a few last year, then England as well. So they’re beating strong teams and Bangladesh was going to be a slightly different proposition because I believe that India had a real challenge when it came to the kind of players Bangladesh had the kind of spinners that they have,” Manjrekar commented.
Manjrekar also shared that the Indian team will be pleased with their performance in Chennai which in contrast to before proved to be more beneficial to the pacers rather than the slower bowlers. But even so, India managed to maintain their authority for most parts of the game.
“So rank Turner, which has been India’s MO to win matches at home, cannot be given. But despite that, what really stood out and what I think the coach and the captain will be happy about is that it wasn’t a ranked Turner but the dominance from India was the same,” he added.
The Indian team had the all-round performance of Ashwin to credit behind their massive win over Bangladesh in Chennai. The veteran showcased his skill with the bat by striking a century in the first innings and followed it up with a six-wicket haul in the second innings to seal India’s win by 280 runs on the fourth day’s play.
Now the Indian team will travel to Kanpur to play the final game of the series following which Team India will gear up for some T20I action against Bangladesh.
They also have some big Test matches lined up for the year. This includes the three-match Test series at home against New Zealand followed by their tour of Australia to defend the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024.
