Colombo, Aug 5 (IANS): For the second time in as many games, the Indian batting order suffered an implosion after Rohit Sharma’s typical blazing start, and this time, it resulted in a 32-run defeat to Sri Lanka in the second ODI at the R Premadasa Stadium.
Abhishek Nayar, India’s assistant coach, admitted the team management will be trying to understand why the side’s batting order has crumbled in both matches of its ongoing series against Sri Lanka, where the pattern of falling in a heap once the spinners come over has stood out.
"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. 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. We want to go back and understand, and rectify, why it happened twice in a row. The day before yesterday (Friday), we were able to stitch partnerships. But here, we lost quite a few wickets in a bundle," said Nayar after the match ended.
In both ODIs so far, India have been mixing up their middle-order positions. On Sunday, Shivam Dube was promoted to number four, followed by Axar Patel at five. It meant Shreyas Iyer came at number six, while KL Rahul was pushed to number seven. Nayar justified the move, saying keeping a left-right combination at the crease was crucial for them.
"My belief is that in any sport, position only matters if you're playing in different areas of a game. If you look at all middle order batters, the idea of that is batting in the middle order. We lost wickets in the middle phase, and that's where the middle order batters batted. It wasn’t like any middle order batters batted towards the end.
"If you look at numbers like four, five, or six, maybe sometimes it can play games in your head. But if you look at the situation of the game, because we lost wickets, everyone typically batted in the middle order. So, what is perceived as a change, it was more about keeping a left-and-right combination, keeping in mind that there were offspinners, and a legspinner in the Sri Lanka team.
"So, the thought process was right. Sometimes, when you don't get the result, you kind of question it. But I believe that the think tank and thought process of having the left-right combination was right, so that we can kind of capitalize on the conditions. But when it doesn't work out, these questions are asked often. So, I've always believed that if a middle order batter bats as a middle order batter, it is the right decision," he said.
Leg-spinner Jeffrey Vandersay, who replaced the injured Wanindu Hasaranga, spun a vicious web around Indian batters, picking the first six wickets to fall to end up with 6-33. Nayar stated India were prepared to tackle spinners, but gave credit to Sri Lankan bowlers for outclassing them.
"Well we did, because the last two T20I games as well, assisted spin. When we came in and practiced as well, we kind of understood that there will be turn on offer, there will be help and assistance for them. So it wasn't a surprise, we were sort of prepared for it.
"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, he used his googly well, and bowled stump to stump - you get these phases when there is assistance from the pitch.
"But yes, Sri Lanka played well, their bowlers have bowled well, and they've scored important runs in the lower order. So credit to them for the way they've played so far, and we've got one game and we try and come back hard in the last one," said Nayar.
With the bat, Sri Lanka were in danger of being bowled out for a low total. But Dunith Wellalage and Kamindu Mendis rescued them for the second time in as many matches with an inspiring lower-order 72-run stand for Sri Lanka to post a competitive 240/9, including making 79 runs in last ten overs.
"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.
"The pitch becomes different to bat in second innings, as compared to first innings. They scored important runs in the lower order and did well with the ball too. So it's just been one of those games where you've tried hard but it's not worked out," concluded Nayar.