Sanjay Manjrekar blasts Shardul Thakur and Mohammad Siraj for their dismal performance in fifth Test vs India

The fifth Test between India and England ended on Tuesday with England chasing down a mammoth 378-run-target against India. The Indian bowling looked helpless against the duo of Jonny Bairstow and Joe Root who stitched an unbeaten partnership of 269 runs for the fourth wicket. The Indian fans were unhappy with the team’s bowling performance as they let England run away with the game.

Jasprit Bumrah picked two wickets for 74 runs in the final innings of the match while all the other Indian bowlers remained wicketless. The most expensive bowlers in the innings were Mohammad Siraj and Shardul Thakur who bowled at the economy rates of 6.5 and 5.9, respectively. Siraj gave away 98 runs in 15 overs while Thakur was hammered for 65 runs in his 11 overs.

Former India cricketer Sanjay Manjrekar feels that Thakur has lost his potency as a bowler and doesn’t look as effective as he did 1 and half years back.

"I think Shardul Thakur is not the same bowler we saw in Test cricket, maybe 18 months back," said Manjrekar on SonyLIV after the match.

While talking about Siraj, the former India batter said, "I have been watching Mohammed Siraj's evolution as a bowler. The seam-up delivery has just gone."

India’s dismal performance with the ball meant that England broke the record of chasing their highest successful total in the fourth innings surpassing the miracle at Leeds in Ashes 2019. This was also the highest successful run chase against India.

The agony didn’t end for India here only as they were docked 2 points for maintaining a slow over-rate in the Test. Besides the penalty points, the players have also been fined 40 per cent of their match fees. With this loss, India have slipped to the fourth rank in the World Test Championship standings with Pakistan rising to no three.

The Indian team can’t afford any more losses to keep their chances of making it to the WTC final alive. They have 6 tests remaining in the 2021-23 cycle, two of which are against Bangladesh and four against Australia.