Manjrekar expects Virat Kohli to score at least three hundreds

Modified Jul 07, 2014 12:21 IST

Former Indian batsman Sanjay Manjrekar has said that he expects lots of runs from the bat of Virat Kohli in the upcoming Test series. Speaking to ESPN Cricinfo, Sanjay said that with the kind of form Kohli has been in, he should be able to score at least three hundreds against an attack which he believes will not trouble Kohli too much.

Virat has been pretty relaxed ahead of the series opener, and he knows that the expectations will be very heavy on him. The onus will be on him and Pujara to score big as they have replaced two of the most prolific names in Indian Cricket.

Sanjay also spoke about how bowlers could try getting him out by making him play the cover drive. He has adviced Virat not to fall in that trap and leave certain deliveries outside the off stump in order to emerge successful.

On Rahane, Rohit and Dhoni

Apart from Kohli, Sanjay also discussed about Ajinkya Rahane, Rohit Sharma and Indian skipper MS Dhoni.

On Rohit, Manjrekar believes that a sense of insecurity could have led to his poor scores in South Africa and New Zealand, and said that Rohit’s success will depend heavily on how he judges length and his ability to rotate strike at the beginning of the innings.

He praised Rahane’s balance and ability to score quick at will. But according to Sanjay, he also tends to get loose at times making him vulnerable against getting out lbw. His appetite for getting big runs will help him he says.

Finally he touched on Dhoni and said that he shouldn’t be having any trouble against pace and bounce, but was quick to point out his weakness against the swinging ball outside the off stump. Manjrekar’s suggestion was that if Dhoni can accelerate at the beginning, then it can help him get crucial runs for the side.

Both sides have a chance to jump to the third spot in the ICC rankings if they win this marquee series which happens to be India’s first ever five match Test series after a gap of 12 years.