Under the leadership of Virat Kohli, Team India re-wrote the history books when they defeated New Zealand 5-0 in the just-concluded T20I series. After a couple of dominant performances, India was pushed against the wall in the last three T20Is, but they always managed to come back swinging. Impressed by India’s never-say-die attitude, former Indian commentator, Sanjay Manjrekar likened Virat Kohli’s leadership with that of former Pakistan all-rounder Imran Khan.
In his tweet, Manjrekar drew a comparison between Imran Khan’s Pakistan and current Indian team as he wrote: “India under Virat in NZ reminds me of Pakistan under Imran. Strong self-belief as a team. Pakistan under Imran found different ways of winning matches, often from losing positions. That only happens when the self-belief is strong.”
India under Virat in NZ reminds me of Pakistan under Imran. Strong self belief as a team. Pakistan under Imran found different ways of winning matches, often from losing positions. That only happens when the self belief is strong.
— Sanjay Manjrekar (@sanjaymanjrekar) February 3, 2020
India defeated New Zealand by seven runs in the fifth and the final T20I to complete a 5-0 series whitewash, thus becoming the first team in the world to achieve this feat. The men in blue had won the first two games with definitive margins. However, the remaining three matches were not a cakewalk for India as the hosts made them toil hard for the wins.
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In the last three matches, New Zealand always got in a winning position but India didn’t give up and kept fighting till the end. Throughout the series, KL Rahul was the most consistent performer as he gave India good starts in almost every game. He amassed as many as 224 runs at an average of 56.00 and a strike rate of 144.52 and was adjudged the player of the series.
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Impressed with the wicketkeeper-batsman’s performance, Manjrekar described him as the “find of the T20 series”. He tweeted: “Find of the T20 series in NZ for me is the ‘batsman keeper’ K L Rahul. Absolutely brilliant!”
Find of the T20 series in NZ for me is the ‘batsman keeper’ K L Rahul. Absolutely brilliant!
— Sanjay Manjrekar (@sanjaymanjrekar) February 3, 2020
“Samson & Pant… the next batting brigade of India obviously have the skill & the power game they just need to infuse a small dose of Virat’s batting ‘smarts’ (mind) into their game,” Manjrekar tweeted.
Samson & Pant… the next batting brigade of India obviously have the skill & the power game they just need to infuse a small dose of Virat’s batting ‘smarts’( mind) into their game.
— Sanjay Manjrekar (@sanjaymanjrekar) February 3, 2020
With 5-0 series win, India extended its record of most consecutive wins in T20Is with eight wins in a row. Previously, India had won seven matches in a row on three different occasions.
Now, the men in blue will be playing a three-match ODI series against the Kiwi with the first game scheduled to be played at the Seddon Park in Hamilton on Wednesday.
