Sanjay Manjrekar backs Ishan Kishan ahead of clash against Pakistan

Former India batter Sanjay Manjrekar reckons the Shreyas Iyer-led Indian team will stick to its attacking batting template despite the tricky pitch conditions in Saturday’s Asian Games gold-medal clash against Pakistan.

“If you look at India’s last game [vs Sri Lanka], there were only two batters who fired — Vaibhav [Sooryavanshi] and Ishan [Kishan]. Both scored at [a strike rate of] 180 and 173 respectively. India will continue to bat that way and we might be disappointed with the way some batters get out. But you have to commit yourself to a template unless you’re chasing. Shreyas will mould his game slightly because this is not your typical T20 flat pitch. I don’t think they’re going to abandon their aggressive approach because of a tricky pitch,” Manjrekar told mid-day during an interaction organised by Sony Sports Network.

Manjrekar, who played 37 Tests and 74 ODIs, believes the final could come down to a battle between batters and spinners. “It’s going to be India’s ability to attack spin versus Pakistan’s ability to attack spin. I think it will come down to that. You would want to back India in that battle, especially with Ishan, who is in the form of his life,” he added.