Manjerekar slams Sachin for failing to finish the job

New Delhi, Nov 7 : Former Test player Sanjay Manjrekar has criticised batting maestro Sachin Tendulkar for once again failing to pass the finishing line and leaving too many runs for the tailenders to get in the fifth ODI of seven match series against Australia in Hyderabad.

''I am sure, at the end of it, Sachin would have been disappointed that he did not finish the game for India. There have been instances in the past when Sachin has left things unfinished and it happened once again,'' Manjrekar said.

''Sachin must be kicking himself for getting out and leaving a bit too many runs for the lower order batsmen to get,'' the former batsman told 'espnstar.com'.

Chasing a mammoth 351 to win, Tendulkar kept India in the hunt by scoring a masterful 175 off 141 balls but failed to finished the job as India faltered at the last moment and lost the nailbitting crucial encounter against the visitors by three runs at Hyderabad on November 5. The victory saw Australia take a 3-2 lead in the ongoing seven-match ODI series.

Manjrekar, a former Mumbai and India team-mate of Tendulkar, however, praised the master-blaster for playing a gem of a knock against the world champions.

''Sachin showed tremendous resilience. Every time he scores runs for India and every time you see him sweating it out in the middle you wonder what keeps the little man going,'' he stressed.

The former middle-order batsman also praised Tendulkar's passion for cricket, whose body language during the marathon knock reflected the exuberance of a young player despite having played a close to two decades of gruelling international cricket.

''"Tendulkar paced his knock with ease and a youthful zest. He played a marathon knock with a lot of grit and determination. Even after so many years of cricket, Sachin hasn't really lost his hunger,'' he added.

However, Manjerakar also expressed his happiness over the crowd's response during the opngoing ODI series against Australia.

''It's great news that ODIs involving India are alive and kicking,'' he added.

--UNI

(c) 2009 Published with permission from United News of India.
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