IPL 2021: Virender Sehwag takes a dig at Manish Pandey for not finishing the run chase against Kolkata Knight Riders

IPL 2021: Virender Sehwag takes a dig at Manish Pandey for not finishing the run chase against Kolkata Knight Riders

Virender Sehwag and Manish Pandey

Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) made a disappointing start to their Indian Premier League (IPL) 2021 campaign as they suffered a loss in their opening game. The David Warner-led side lost against Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) by 10 runs. Chasing 188, SRH couldn’t clinch the game despite a decent batting performance.

However, former India batsman Virender Sehwag questioned SRH’s batsman Manish Pandey’s approach during the run chase. He said that Pandey batted a bit slow during the death overs and he failed to score boundaries during that time. He added that apart from a six on the ultimate delivery of the match, the 31-year old couldn’t hit a boundary.

“Pandey couldn’t hit a boundary in the last three overs he batted against KKR. That lone six came off the last ball when the match was over. He had an important role play. He already had faced the pressure and was set. Had he taken the initiative to smash a few boundaries, SRH wouldn’t have lost the game by 10 runs,” Sehwag told Cricbuzz.

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“It happens sometimes that you are a set batsman but you don’t get the balls to hit. I think the same thing had happened with Manish Pandey. He didn’t get any ball in his radar and hence, he couldn’t hit a six,” he added.

‘I would like to appreciate KKR captain Eoin Morgan’: Ashish Nehra

Eoin Morgan
Eoin Morgan

Former India pacer Ashish Nehra agreed to what Sehwag said during the show. Nehra added that KKR bowlers didn’t bowl in Manish Pandey’s radar to restrict him from scoring big shots. He also appreciated the opposition skipper Eoin Morgan for his apt field placement. 

“Pandey’s radar is mostly towards mid-wicket and long-on. Until the mid-wicket fielder was up (inside the circle), he got runs. Once the fielder went deep, Pandey found it difficult to score. For this, I would like to appreciate KKR captain Eoin Morgan. He may have made the change in the field a bit late but the move worked in restricting Manish Pandey,” said Ashish Nehra.

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