Was it unexpected? The answer to India’s surprising loss to Sri Lanka in the second ODI, which he attributed to the spin-friendly conditions that might turn a game totally, was “yes,” according to assistant coach Abhishek Nayar.
Leg-spinner Jeffrey Vandersay caused havoc with six wickets to record a 32-run loss for the visitors in the second One-Day International played here on Sunday, highlighting India’s vulnerability to spin once again.
“…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 said at the post-match press conference.
On a pitch that offered considerable of support for the spinners, India was chasing 241 and finished at 208 all out in 42.2 overs. With the exception of captain Rohit Sharma, the Indian hitters had struggled in the previous game as well.
“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.
The think tank will consider what has gone wrong thus far, according to the assistant coach.
“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.”
India rearranged their middle order, moving Shivam Dube (0) to number four. They kept their right-left batting combination of KL Rahul (0) at number seven and Shreyas Iyer (7) at number six.
“My belief is that in any sport, position only matters if you’re playing in different areas of a game. We lost wickets in the middle phase, and that’s where the middle order batters batted. It’s not as if middle order batters batted towards the end.
“The thought process was right. When it doesn’t work out, these questions are asked often. But I’ve always believed that if a middle order batter bats as a middle order batter, it is the right decision,” Nayar said.
Nayar feels there is more pressure on the team batting second.
“When you are batting first, there is less pressure. When you are chasing, the pressure is more because you have to keep an eye on the run rate, wickets.
“Whenever you bat first, you often have partnerships. Wellalage batted really well, both in the last game and this game. They scored important runs in the lower order.”
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