Sanjay Manjrekar suggests basic ‘Riyaz’ for Indian batsmen ahead of key Boxing Day Test

Team India got two extra days after the first Test match at the Adelaide Oval had ended in the second session of Day 3  where the visitors tasted a humiliating eight-wicket after suffering a dramatic batting collapse in the second innings. Now, commentator-cum-Cricket pundit Sanjay Manjrekar has urged the Indian team to just focus on one thing as they look to stage a comeback in the next Test match with the series on the line.

'Must practice just one thing': Sanjay Manjrekar

Taking to the micro-blogging site, Manjrekar has gone on to say that in this gap, the Indian batsman especially Ajinkya Rahane must practice one thing and that is to get a million balls thrown at full & short length.

At the same time, the ex-Mumbai batsman also opened up on how the batsmen need to tackle these deliveries. He explained that they should make decisive feet movement, get big stride forward (forward defence)  to full balls, and should be right back in the crease i.e. on the backfoot to short balls. The cricketer-turned-commentator concluded by saying that this is the basic ‘Riyaz’ for defensive Test batting.

Meanwhile, Sanjay Manjrekar's tweet evoked mixed reactions on social media. While there were some who were on the same page with the former cricketer, there were others who did not agree with him. Here are some of the reactions. 

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Can Team India stage a comeback at the MCG?

The Boxing Day Test match will be played at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on Saturday and India will be expected to come out all guns blazing after their batting debacle in the second innings at the Adelaide Oval. The Border-Gavaskar Trophy holders will be without the services of skipper Virat Kohli who will be returning back to India on paternity leave and, frontline pacer Mohammed Shami has been ruled out of the remainder of the series after fracturing his bowling wrist. The tail-ender was struck by a vicious delivery from Pat Cummins and appeared to be in deep discomfort. The physio had come to attend him but the number 11 batsman was in no position to bat and had to retire hurt. He did not even come out to bowl in the fourth innings. 

This is a must-win encounter for India as a loss here would mean that the Aussies end up taking an unassailable 2-0 lead in the four-match series. A win at the iconic MCG will help the hosts in securing the series irrespective of the outcome in the final two Tests in Sydney and Brisbane respectively. 

READ: Prithvi Shaw Fires Back At Critics After His Failure In First India-Australia Test Match