The first Test match of India versus Australia Border Gavaskar Trophy 2023 is currently underway in Nagpur, and the hosts so far have been in good condition courtesy of Rohit Sharma’s brilliant ton.
Resuming his innings on Day 2 of the game, Rohit slammed a magnificent 120 before falling prey to Australian skipper Pat Cummins. During the Indian skipper’s inning in the first match, a graphic flashed on the television screens, which showed players with the best conversion rate in Tests in India.
The list showed Murali Vijay on top with a 60% rate and Rohit at the fourth position with 50%, reacting to which the on-air commentator Sanjay Manjrekar termed it ‘surprising’. The tabulate also featured the likes of Mohammad Azharuddin, Polly Umrigar and Virat Kohli.
Best conversion rate in Tests in India. pic.twitter.com/fXFYJIGIB3
— Johns. (@CricCrazyJohns) February 10, 2023
Notably, Vijay announced his retirement from all forms of international cricket on Monday (January 30). The former 38-year-old opener represented India in 61 Tests, 17 ODIs and 9 T20Is, and the last game he played was in Perth against Australia in December 2018.
Furious with Manjrekar’s reaction, Vijay took to Twitter and wrote: “@sanjaymanjrekar Surprised wow.”
@sanjaymanjrekar Surprised wow
— Murali Vijay (@mvj888) February 10, 2023
Vijay further posted one more tweet, which read, “Some Mumbai ex players can never be appreciative of the south! #showsomelove #equality #fairplayforall @sanjaymanjrekar @BCCI”
Some Mumbai ex players can never be appreciative of the south ! #showsomelove #equality #fairplayforall @sanjaymanjrekar@BCCI
— Murali Vijay (@mvj888) February 10, 2023
However, Manjrekar, re-appearing after the break, heaped praises for Vijay and said “we tend to forget the contribution of players like him.”
“He (Rohit) is No. 2 now with eight hundreds when it comes to conversion rates at home. It is a good thing that Murali Vijay is in that list because we tend to forget the contributions that people like him make. 12 Test hundreds – nine out of them at home and a brilliant conversion rate right at the top,” said Manjrekar after lunch.