It’s been a week of intense cricket action in Colombo for the Indian cricket team, yet they find themselves on the brink of an inglorious defeat in the ongoing series against Sri Lanka. With the final game looming, India heads into the match with the stark possibility of losing their first bilateral series against their Asian neighbors in an astonishing 27 years. This scenario has raised several eyebrows as Gautam Gambhir’s men grapple with several challenges in the 50-over format, primarily their noticeable difficulties in countering the Sri Lankan spinners during the mid-overs.
In both of the past encounters, the Indian opening batsman Rohit Sharma capitalized on the new ball, propelling India to rapid starts while chasing relatively modest targets. Despite these promising beginnings, the Sri Lankan spinners managed to orchestrate two significant batting collapses – one ending in a dramatic tie and the other resulting in a 32-run victory for the hosts.
Indian all-rounder Washington Sundar, however, dismissed these setbacks as mere opportunities to fine-tune their preparations for larger and more prestigious tournaments lined up in the coming year. “Honestly, we are quality players of spin,” remarked Sundar optimistically. “We’ve always played on these kinds of wickets even at home, even in Tests and in domestic cricket as well. We know a lot of our players have done well in the middle-order especially while batting against spin. It is just a matter of finding a way in their own individual ways to try and get the job done.”
Sundar continued to express his confidence in the team’s capabilities, emphasizing their grit and potential. “Everyone knows it is a challenging wicket and the Indian team always puts its hands up when the challenge arises. That’s when we have been very good with both bat and ball and have come out in flying colors out of challenging situations. That is the definition of the Indian cricket team over the last many years.”
Reflecting on the series and the upcoming final game, Sundar added, “I think it has been the same scenario in this series as well and it is just about finding a way individually and getting the job done. I think it is a great opportunity to do that tomorrow.”
Examining the two previous games highlights India’s batting woes.
. In the first ODI, the Indian batting lineup faltered from 75 for no loss to 132 for 5. In the second match, they stumbled from a solid start of 97 for no loss to a diminished 147 for 6. Despite these stark collapses, Washington Sundar refuted any substantial advantage for teams bowling second on the R Premadasa Stadium pitch in Colombo. “I feel it (the pitch) is similar in both innings. In the evening, maybe the zip is a bit more and slides in at a quicker speed but I feel it is the same,” he said.
A notable aspect of India’s performance against spin in the second ODI was their apparent reluctance to use their feet against the Sri Lankan tweakers, a tactical approach often employed successfully by the current head coach, Gautam Gambhir, during his playing days.
“He (Gambhir) was a high-quality player of spin. We’ve always seen him put up brave performances, especially on such pitches against quality spin bowling. So obviously there has been a lot of input from him. That’s one of the reasons we came here today to practice and try and find a way and try to do those small little changes,” Sundar explained.
Maintaining his faith in the squad, Sundar further stated, “We’re the best team; we just need to put our hands up in those critical situations in the games. Tomorrow it’s an opportunity for us to do exactly that and win the game. Obviously, with big tournaments coming up, we will be in such situations. It’s really important to find ways to see what we can do to win those critical situations in similar conditions against quality spin attacks.”
As the Indian team gears up for the decisive match, all eyes will be on how they adapt and strategize against the formidable spin challenge posed by the Sri Lankan side. With historical implications at stake, the finale not only serves as a potential morale booster for the Indian team but also as an important preparatory step for the future cricketing calendar.