In a surprising turn of events, India’s assistant coach Abhishek Nayar has acknowledged the pressing need to reassess and identify the causes behind India’s shaky batting performances in the ongoing ODI series in Sri Lanka. The recent matches have highlighted significant vulnerabilities in the batting lineup that need urgent addressing to rectify and improve team dynamics.
In the first One Day International, India seemed to be in a favorable position, comfortably placed at 80 for 1 after 15 overs while chasing Sri Lanka’s target of 230 for 8. However, a sudden collapse saw them slide to 132 for 5, eventually leading to a nerve-wracking tie. The second ODI mirrored the first in a distressing manner as India crumbled from 116 for 1 to 133 for 5, ultimately falling short by 32 runs while chasing Sri Lanka’s 240 for 9. This has sparked concerns within the team’s management, prompting a deep dive into the nuances that led to these failures.
“We want to go back and understand, and rectify, why it happened twice in a row. The day before yesterday, we were able to stitch partnerships. But today we lost quite a few wickets in a bundle,” said Nayar, clearly disheartened by the defeat that handed Sri Lanka an unassailable 1-0 lead in the three-match series. He expressed the need to pinpoint the precise reasons behind these recurring collapses to prevent future occurrences.
Nayar described the defeat as a ‘surprise,’ especially since it was the 2023 World Cup finalists who unraveled against spin. Jeffrey Vandersay, stepping in for the injured Wanindu Hasaranga, proved to be the wrecker-in-chief. Vandersay bewildered the Indian batters with his spinning deliveries, claiming each of the first six wickets and finishing with impressive figures of 6 for 33 in his 10-over spell. Nayar acknowledged that in spin-friendly conditions, games could take unprecedented turns.
“Was it a shock? I would say yes, there is a surprise. But you anticipate and understand that in these conditions the game can turn on its head because there is so much spin on offer,” Nayar stated. “Even if you look at the last game, it was relatively easy to score against the new ball. As the ball got older, the conditions when batting second got slightly tougher. Sometimes in tough conditions, especially in the 50-over format, this happens,” he added, commending Vandersay’s efforts.
Nayar did not shy away from praising the Sri Lankan bowlers for their commendable performances.
. He particularly lauded Vandersay for his accurate length, recognizing that his bowling exploited the turning conditions effectively by maintaining a stump-to-stump line. “They bowled well – I think Vandersay bowled the ideal length in these conditions. In such conditions, when the ball is turning – and the way Vandersay bowled today, used his finger, and bowled stump to stump – you get these phases when there is assistance from the pitch. I feel today we should give more credit to Sri Lanka.”
Addressing the challenges of playing in spin-dominated conditions, Nayar revealed that the team had anticipated and prepared for such scenarios. “The last two T20 games assisted spin. When we came here and practised as well, we kind of understood that there will be turn on offer, there will be help and assistance for the spinners. It wasn’t a surprise, and we had prepared for it,” Nayar reflected.
Following Rohit Sharma’s dismissal in the 14th over and Shubman Gill’s in the 18th, India made a tactical change by promoting Shivam Dube to No.4 ahead of Shreyas Iyer. Nayar clarified that this decision was driven by the strategy to maintain a left-right batting combination, especially with Sri Lanka fielding both an off-spinner and a leg-spinner. “We lost wickets in the middle phase, which means every middle order batter batted where he was supposed to. It was not as if the middle order batted towards the end.
“When you look at numbers, sometimes in your head it can play games, if you look at it as No 4 or No 5 or No 6… but if you look at the situation of the game, because we lost wickets, everyone batted in the middle-order,” Nayar explained. He stressed that the decision was based on the conditions and the spinners involved, affirming that while the strategy did not yield the desired results, it was a well-thought-out plan to counter Sri Lanka’s bowling attack.
“The thought process was about having the left-right combination so that we can capitalize on the conditions,” he said. Despite the setbacks, Nayar remains optimistic about refining the approach and learning from these instances to bolster the team’s resilience in future matches.