Having endured a 3-0 whitewash in the T20I series, Sri Lanka scripted a remarkable turnaround in the ODI series, giving a full-strength Indian side a run for their money, and are on the brink of ending their 27-year drought for a bilateral series win against the Men in Blue in ODIs
when they lock horns in the third and final ODI in Colombo on Wednesday.
The conditions at the R Premadasa International Cricket Stadium have worked in favour of the spinners and the home side has exploited them well to put a powerful Indian batting line-up on the backfoot, not once but twice in the series so far.
It’s certainly not the start Gautam Gambhir, a stickler for victories, would want in his first ODI assignment as the team’s head coach. But the Indian team has themselves to blame for letting themselves be dominated by the spinners.
It was the second consecutive occasion when the Indian batters failed to counter the spinners on Sunday, with comeback man Jeffrey Vandesay returning with career best figures of 6/33 to torment the visitors and skittle them out for 208 in their chase of 240.
One has to go way back to 1997 to find the last time Sri Lanka defeated India in a bilateral men’s ODI series and Vandersay has the opportunity to once again rise to the occasion and help his side match what the likes of Sanath Jayasuriya, Aravinda de Silva, Arjuna Ranatunga and Muthiah Muralidaran achieved 27 years ago by avoiding defeat in the series finale in Colombo on Wednesday.
Having said that, the Indian team is a well-oiled unit, and won’t succumb to the pressure, although so far, it has been only Rohit Sharma and Axar Patel, who have looked comfortable against spin. The skipper used the sweep shots effectively, and the others could take a cue from the 37-year-old.
Another area that the Indian team will look to work on is to close out the innings. In both the previous games, the Sri Lankan lower order managed to put up valuable runs, despite having the top and middle order back in the pavilion below 150. Despite that Sri Lanka have managed to put up scores of 230/8 and 240/9.
While it looks highly unlikely that the Indian team will ring in changes with the series on the line, but if they chose to bring in Riyan Parag, he could be an asset with his part-time spinners apart from being a big-hitting batter. Similarly, Harshit Rana could also be given a game to access if he’s up for the challenge.
After all, post this series, India will have only one three-match series against England to prepare the team for the ICC Champions Trophy.
On the other hand, the Sri Lankan side will look to bank on the confidence received from the first two games to exert pressure on the Indians. However, they will also have their own shortcomings to address, especially in the top-order batting department, that has more or often than not let them down.