 | « Back to article | Print this article |
India won both its pre-World Cup warm-up games but the team's fast bowlers did not gain any confidence from that, says former batsman Sanjay Manjrekar who would not be surprised if "one of the pacers break down in the middle of the tournament".
"I don't think the warm-up games helped either Ashish Nehra or Munaf Patel in any manner. Their confidence will have definitely taken a dip after these two matches. These two bowlers also looked a bit fragile while fielding. That is a major weakness for India going into this big tournament," Manjrekar told Mobile ESPN.
"With Zaheer Khan also yet to attain full fitness, I will not be surprised if one of the pacers break down in the middle of the tournament," he said.
The Indian team beat defending champions Australia and New Zealand in their warm-up ties on Sunday and Wednesday, respectively.
However, Munaf and Nehra were far from impressive in both the matches.
They bowled four wicketless overs between them during the 38-run win over Australia in Bangalore. In the 117-run victory over New Zealand in Chennai, Nehra took a couple of wickets but conceded 55 runs in his seven overs while Munaf once again went wicketless in his three-over spell.
Talking about the spinners, Manjrekar praised Piyush Chawla and R Ashwin for their fine show in the warm-up games.
"Chawla will be delighted with his impressive showing. If his services are required in the middle of the tournament you won't have a nervous leg-spinner playing his first World Cup game.
"This is a major plus point for the Indian team going into the mega-event. Also Ashwin was brilliant on Wednesday (against New Zealand)," he said.
The two bowlers grabbed eight of the 20 wickets against Australia and New Zealand.