Sundar defends India batsmen against spinners
All-rounder Washington Sundar has defended the Indian batsmen after their poor show in the ongoing ODI series against Sri Lanka. All-rounder Washington Sundar has defended the Indian batsmen after their poor show in the ongoing ODI series against Sri Lanka.
After suffering a whitewash in the T20 series, Sri Lanka bounced back by troubling the Indian a lot in the 50-over format. The spinners have been the main source of trouble for the Indian batsmen in the first two ODIs. In the first match which ended in a draw, Sri Lanka’s spinners together picked up nine wickets.
In the second match, Jeffrey Vandersay spun a spin web that the Indian batsmen could not escape. His six wickets left India speechless and skipper Charith Asalanka’s three wickets completely knocked the visitors out of the game.
Fully relying on useful contributions
In the ODIs, no Indian middle-order managed to post a total of 40 runs. India relied heavily on skipper Rohit Sharma’s explosive batting at the start and Axar Patel’s useful contributions towards the end.
On the eve of the third ODI, Sundar defended the batsman’s poor performance, saying, “We are great players of spin. We have always played on such pitches, even at home, even in Test matches. In domestic cricket, we play a lot of matches on such pitches. Many of our players have done really well, especially in the middle order, especially batting against spin.”
It’s just a matter of playing your way and trying to get the job done. Everyone knows it’s a challenging wicket. The Indian team has always been one where everyone puts their hands up, especially when the challenge comes. India will look to level the series in the third and final ODI of the series against Sri Lanka in Colombo on Wednesday.
Indian player Washington Sundar defends the skill of the team’s batsmen
Ahead of the final match, Indian player Washington Sundar is defending the skill of his team’s batsmen. So far their middle order has not done well. Their batting performance has been mainly fuelled by Rohit Sharma’s aggression in the powerplay, with Axar Patel also scoring crucial runs from No. 5 and 7.
We are excellent players of spin. The first two matches have been played on extremely spin-friendly pitches and a similar performance is expected on Wednesday as well, Washington said on the eve of the third match. We have always played on such pitches, even at home grounds, even in Test matches. In domestic cricket, we play a lot of matches on such wickets. Many of our players have done really well, especially in the middle order, especially batting against spin.
Trying to find a way and get the job done
It’s just a matter of finding a way in yourself and trying to get the job done. Everyone knows it’s a challenging wicket. The Indian team has always been one where everyone puts their hand up, especially when the challenge comes.
Sri Lanka performed so poorly in last year’s World Cup that they failed to qualify for the Champions Trophy next year, while for India this is essentially preparation for that tournament. Given India’s objections to playing in Pakistan, there is a possibility that several of their matches could be moved to Sri Lanka.
UAE the second possible venue for India’s matches
This means more turning tracks in their future, next February and March. The second possible venue for India’s matches is the UAE, where again spin could play a key role. Part of India’s problems in this series has been their inability to prevent Sri Lanka’s lower-middle order batsmen, particularly Dunith Wellage, from putting on crucial partnerships in the final 10 overs.
We would have liked to bowl them out for 200 or less,” Washington said. “We put them in that position in both games. There are bigger tournaments coming up, so we will be in similar situations, and this is a chance for us to learn how to do our job in difficult conditions. We just have to put our hands up and win those crucial situations in the game.
Countering an unusual attack
India’s challenge is to counter Sri Lanka’s unusual attack. The hosts also have a finger spinner (Kamindu Mendis) who can bowl with both hands as well as mystery spinner Akila Dananjaya, who bowls a mix of offbreaks, googlies and legbreaks. India have tried to counter this by attempting to maintain a left-right combination at the crease throughout this series.
The left-hander sent Washington in to bat at No. 4 alongside Virat Kohli in the previous game. Washington said coach Gautam Gambhir has been vocal as the team has tried to fine-tune its strategy against spin. “There has been a lot of inputs from Gambhir.
Conclusion
An India-Sri Lanka bilateral series in which India have struggled to prove themselves? Wow. It’s been a long time. In fact, India have not lost a bilateral series between these teams since 1997.
The results of the last two matches are particularly surprising, as India had beaten Sri Lanka soundly in the last two meetings of these teams – by 50 runs in the Asia Cup final
