- Joined
- Aug 12, 2023
- Runs
- 16,705
During the practice session on Tuesday, Shubman Gill stepped out against Axar Patel early on and gave his left-arm spin a hard whack. Footwork, a crucial aspect of India's game, had been entirely absent against the Sri Lankan spinners in the second ODI, which they lost. This defeat left them needing to salvage the series in the final game.
Five Indian batters were trapped LBW on Sunday, the joint-most such dismissals they have ever suffered in an ODI. Their troubles came from a leg-spinner who was only added to the squad a day earlier, bowling nothing more complicated than a consistent stump-to-stump line. Abhishek Nayar, India’s assistant coach, acknowledged the difficulties Indian batters faced in the middle overs for two consecutive games and the necessity to address those errors.
During the two-hour session, Shubman Gill, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul, and Virat Kohli spent most of the time practicing. They hope their adjustments will serve them well in the final game of the ongoing Sri Lanka tour.
The loss in the second match has also prompted India to consider their options: field their best possible XI or experiment with an eye on the next big ICC tournament in six months. For the newly appointed Gautam Gambhir-led coaching staff, a loss would be a significant setback. They inherited a team that displayed some of India’s best ODI cricket less than a year ago, and despite early successes in their tenure, they wouldn’t want to end their two-week trip to the south with more questions than answers.
Squads:
Sri Lanka Squad: Pathum Nissanka, Avishka Fernando, Kusal Mendis(w), Sadeera Samarawickrama, Charith Asalanka(c), Janith Liyanage, Dunith Wellalage, Akila Dananjaya, Mohamed Shiraz, Asitha Fernando, Jeffrey Vandersay, Chamika Karunaratne, Kamindu Mendis, Nishan Madushka, Maheesh Theekshana, Eshan Malinga
India Squad: Rohit Sharma(c), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul(w), Shivam Dube, Washington Sundar, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Siraj, Arshdeep Singh, Rishabh Pant, Khaleel Ahmed, Riyan Parag, Harshit Rana
=======
All posters please take note of the following guidelines for match threads on PakPassion:
1. No personal insults at other posters, players, officials, coaching staffs etc.
2. No making fun of player's, official's, coaching staff's names.
3. Do not add any references to media, their social media or post any pictures or screenshots from other sports websites.
4. Stick to commenting on this match. There is no need to bring other countries into the match discussion as there are plenty of other threads where those discussions can be added.
