Manjrekar wonders if 'mental fatigue from long series' led to Yashasvi Jaiswal-KL Rahul wickets in Manchester

Manjrekar wonders if 'mental fatigue from long series' led to Yashasvi Jaiswal-KL Rahul wickets in Manchester (AP Photo)

KL Rahul and Yashasvi Jaiswal gave India a promising start in the fourth Test at Manchester. The duo watched out England's attack in the opening session and ensured the team didn't lose any wicket after being asked to bat first by Ben Stokes. Together they stitched 78 runs in the opening session but the momentum dropped soon after action resumed in the second session.

Chris Woakes got rid of Rahul for 46 and broke the partnership at 94. Jaiswal continued further and reached his 12th half-century in the format but lost his wicket to Liam Dawson for 58. At the end of the session, ex-India cricketer Sanjay Manjrekar, who is among the expert panel on JioStar, made an interesting observation regarding the duo.

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"We saw two set batters get out - KL Rahul and Yashasvi Jaiswal. You wonder, I don't know whether I'm reading too much into it, whether it's mental fatigue from the long series. These are guys who've got runs. These aren't batters who will get a 50 and let the advantage go. They didn't quite dig in and get a big 100. Has that got something to do with mental stamina?” wondered Manjrekar.

Meanwhile, the opening day of the match witnessed a mixed performance from India. Ravindra Jadeja and Shardul Thakur pushed India to 264/4 at Stumps but the biggest setback was Rishabh Pant's injury, which has put his participation in the contest in serious doubt.

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Meanwhile, Sai Sudharsan, dropped by Jamie Smith off Ben Stokes bowling while relatively new at the middle, eventually succumbed for 61 against the England captain.