Sanjay Manjrekar Compares Virat Kohli's India To Imran Khan's Pakistan

Virat Kohli-led Team India created history as they defeated New Zealand 5-0 in the just-concluded Twenty20 International (T20I) series. After a couple of dominant performances, India were pushed against the wall in the last three T20Is, but they bounced back, pulling off victories from the jaws of defeat -- in Super Overs on two successive occasions. Impressed by India's never-say-die attitude, cricketer-turned-commentator Sanjay Manjrekar likened Virat Kohli's leadership with that of former Pakistan all-rounder Imran Khan. In his tweet, Manjrekar was full of praise for how Pakistan under Imran Khan's leadership "found different ways of winning matches, often from losing positions". Manjrekar pointed that he sees the same quality in the current Indian team who possess a "strong self-belief".

"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," Manjrekar tweeted on Monday.

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.

India began the series in some style, winning first two matches quite convincingly.

However, the remaining three matches were not a cakewalk for India as the hosts made them toil hard for the wins.

In the last three matches, New Zealand were strong favourites to win but India didn't give up and kept fighting till the end.

Throughout the series, KL Rahul was the most consistent performer and he gave India good starts in almost every game.

He was the top run-getter in the series, scoring 224 runs at an average of 56.00 and a strike rate of 144.52 and was adjudged the player of the series.

Impressed with the wicketkeeper-batsman's performance, Manjrekar described him as the "find of the T20 series".

"Find of the T20 series in NZ for me is the 'batsman keeper' K L Rahul. Absolutely brilliant!," Manjrekar tweeted, praising Rahul.

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 their record of most consecutive win in the shortest format to eight wins in a row.

Previously, India had won seven matches in a row on three different occasions.

After the T20Is, India and New Zealand will play three One-day Internationals, first of which will be played on February 5. The ODI series will be followed by two Test matches, starting from February 21.

Topics mentioned in this article

India Cricket Team New Zealand Cricket Team Virat Kohli Imran Khan KL Rahul New Zealand vs India, 2020 Cricket Sanjay Manjrekar