It’s been a tense week for the Indian cricket team in Colombo, as they still haven’t managed to secure a win in the ongoing series against Sri Lanka. Heading into the final game of the tour, India faces the daunting prospect of losing a bilateral series to their neighboring nation for the first time in 27 years. Under the guidance of Gautam Gambhir, the team has struggled particularly in the 50-over format, thanks largely to their inability to combat the Sri Lankan spinners during the crucial middle overs.
In both matches, Indian openers, especially Rohit Sharma, capitalized on the new ball to give India fast starts while chasing relatively modest targets. However, the middle-order collapses engineered by the Sri Lankan spinners turned what seemed like straightforward chases into disasters for India. The first game ended in a dramatic tie, while the second saw the hosts securing a commanding 32-run victory.
Washington Sundar, the Indian all-rounder, offered a different perspective on the twin defeats. He framed them as opportunities for the team to prepare for more significant challenges in upcoming major tournaments. “Honestly, we are quality players of spin,” Sundar asserted, pointing to the team’s extensive experience on spin-friendly wickets both in international and domestic cricket. “It is just a matter of finding a way in their own individual ways to try and get the job done.”
Sundar emphasized that the Indian team has a history of rising to challenges. “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,” he elaborated.
In the first match, India lost their way after a promising start at 75 for no loss, collapsing to 132 for 5. The second match saw a similar pattern, with India sliding from 97 for no loss to 147 for 6. Despite these setbacks, Sundar denied that the pitch at the R Premadasa Stadium provided any significant advantage to teams bowling second. “I feel it (the pitch) is similar in both innings.
. In the evening, maybe the zip is a bit more, but I feel it is the same,” he observed.
One intriguing element in India’s struggle against spin during the second ODI was their reluctance to use their feet against the Sri Lankan tweakers. This is a stark contrast to Gambhir’s playing days when the current head coach was known for his adept footwork against spin. “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,” Sundar noted.
To address their issues, Sundar shared that the team has been working hard in practice sessions. “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,” he said. He further stressed the need for individual responsibility and adapting to match situations.
“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,” Sundar said. With bigger tournaments looming, he emphasized the importance of learning how to navigate similar conditions and high-quality spin attacks effectively. “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 India looks forward to the final match, the pressure is immense. The team has to bounce back and find ways to counter the spin onslaught if they hope to turn the series around and avoid a historic defeat against their regional rivals. All eyes will be on the Indian middle order to see if they can live up to Sundar’s optimistic outlook and Gambhir’s tactical inputs to overcome the spin challenge.
The cricketing fraternity will wait with bated breath to see how the team performs in the final game of this series, which could either mark a major setback or a triumphant comeback for India in limited-overs cricket.