'India would have played differently if it was league match' - Sanjay Manjrekar on hosts' World Cup final game

Australia and India squared off against each other at the iconic Narendra Modi Stadium for the finals of World Cup 2023 on November 19 where Men in Yellow clinched the ultimate glory for the 6th time. Former India cricketer Sanjay Manjrekar gave his opinions on India's loss in the mega clash and added how the pressure of the final game consumed the hosts. The commentator also spoke on the limitations India had to face in the entirety of World Cup 2023.

Speaking exclusively to Star Sports, former India cricketer Sanjay Manjrekar spoke on the limitations that India had to face throughout the tournament, he said “Well, India had certain limitations that they had covered beautifully throughout the tournament, with Jadeja at number 7 and their batting finishing at number 6. So India felt the pressure of not having depth; you know, those little chinks in India’s armor came to the fore. The batting depth wasn’t there, and you saw the way KL Rahul played a bulk of the innings with the knowledge that there isn’t much batting to come.”

Manjrekar highlights India's problems in the WC Final 2023

Sanjay Manjrekar also spoke on whether the pressure of the finals had a part to play in India’s loss, he said “I’ve been focusing a lot on the difficulty factor, the slow pitch, and how difficult it was for KL Rahul and the others to get a move on because they didn’t have any wickets left in the bag. Just imagine this game was a league match between Sri Lanka and India; would India have taken that risk? Maybe yes, that is where perhaps temperament comes in, and maybe if it was a league match, India would have played differently."

India and Australia are currently up against each other in a five-match T20I series where India is leading 1-0.