Leeds [UK], June 22 : Former Indian cricketer Sanjay Manjrekar spoke on pacer Prasidh Krishna's first session spell on day three of the first Test against England, saying that he has performed to the best of his ability and looked better than the likes of Mohammed Siraj and Shardul Thakur.
Krishna struck early during the first session, removing the centurion Ollie Pope. After finishing with 0/51 in nine overs on day two, he bowled five more overs, taking 1/29. However, England still went way beyond the 300-run mark at the end of the first session.
Speaking on 'Match Centre Live', JioStar expert Manjrekar said, "If you see Prasidh Krishna in this Test match as opposed to the Test he played for India earlier in South Africa, he has looked the best to me. Yesterday, although he did not quite get the wickets, he was still India's number two seamer. He was better than Mohammed Siraj, certainly more potent than Shardul Thakur. So, India made the right choice and went for him; this is Prasidh Krishna doing the best he can. With time, if he gets a couple of wickets and builds confidence, he might just get better and better. I will not be critical of Prasidh Krishna with the way he's bowled -- he has done everything he possibly could to the best of his ability."
Also, former cricketer and JioStar expert Deep Dasgupta said that his concern with Prasidh is the consistency on "flattish" pitches, and he might have given a few more boundary balls than expected.
"That is been the challenge. He has bowled good deliveries, but not consistently enough. We have always talked about Prasidh's natural length, and especially against batters, who love playing their shots and have an array of options available to them, it becomes a little difficult. So, every now and then, you'd see him leaking runs. That is the reason you see that kind of economy rate," he concluded.
At the end of the first session, England was 327/5, with Brook (57*) and Smith (29*) unbeaten. They trail by 144 runs.
England started the first session of the day on 209/3, with Ollie Pope (100*) and Harry Brook (0*) unbeaten.
Pope and Brook started off on an attacking note, with the latter getting a four and six against Prasidh Krishna in the first over and Pope smacking a length delivery from Jasprit Bumrah on the next over's very first ball.
However, a delivery wide outside off by Krishna was slashed at hard by Pope, getting an edge and going straight into the hands of Rishabh Pant, who completed his 150th catch as a wicketkeeper. Pope was gone for 106 in 137 balls, with 14 fours. England was 225/4 .
Brook continued stamping his authority on pacers, while skipper Ben Stokes settled from the other end. England reached the 250-run mark in 59 overs. It was simply raining boundaries, and the duo formed a 50-run stand in 78 balls.
However, Mohammed Siraj struck, removing Stokes for 20 in 52 balls (three fours), finding a thick edge of the bat. England was 276/5.
Early in his innings, after two solid boundaries, Jamie Smith survived a leg-before-wicket review, with Shardul Thakur missing out on a golden chance to open his wicket tally as the ball missed the leg stump. England touched the 300-run mark in 71 overs.
Pant dropped a catch of Brook and he capitalised on it, reaching his 12th Test fifty in 65 balls, with seven fours and a six. Jamie and Brook also completed a 50-run stand.