WAS IT A INDIA VS JEFFREY VANDERSAY MATCH?
Yes, it was completely a 1 against 11 kind of match. Jeffrey Vandersay took his first 5-wicket haul in One Day Internationals. He was playing in the absence of the injured Wanindu Hasaranga, which turned out to be a blessing in disguise for Sri Lanka. He bowled 10 overs, gave only 33 runs, and took 6 key Indian batters with him. His wickets included batters like Rohit Sharma, Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shivam Dube, Shreyas Iyer, and KL Rahul. All of them are pure batters with significant international experience. This spell reminded me of Akila Dananjaya's performance in 2017 when he took 6/54 in his 10 overs, although Sri Lanka lost that match. Both matches were similar, being low-scoring on spinning wickets. The pitch in Colombo turns more under the lights. Bowling slow generates turn from the pitch, and spinners who use their arm while bowling get more help compared to those who don't. Hence, Kuldeep Yadav wasn't getting much help from the pitch. Vandersay understood the conditions very well and bowled a tight length, sticking to the game plan. I hope the Sri Lankan board will now give him consistent chances to play.
WHAT CHANGES AFTER POWERPLAY FOR INDIA?
India, in both matches, was so good until the fall of the wicket of captain Rohit Sharma. India was 97/0 from 13.2 overs when Rohit got out, and then India was bundled out for just 208. Does the pitch get so hard to bat on later? The answer is yes, it does. In the powerplay, Sharma plays exactly as the pitch demands. He starts very aggressively, scoring 64 runs off just 44 balls with 4 sixes and 5 fours, at a strike rate of 145.45 in an ODI match. He is playing his role very well but throws his wicket away foolishly. I agree he has done the damage already, but on pitches like this, a batter struggles early on and gifts his wicket to the opposition. Rohit, in my opinion, should try to slow down a bit after the powerplay. He should try to score only singles and doubles after the powerplay and wait until the other batter gets settled. If Rohit stays there till 20 overs or more, the collapse won't happen.
DO WE PLAY WITH THE RIGHT TECHNIQUE ON TURNING PITCHES?
Rohit plays well on surfaces like this; he has plenty of shots in his repertoire. He plays sweep, reverse sweep, paddle shot, drives, slog sweep, and more. His variety of shots helps him score big. Gill's right shoulder follows his body, forcing him to play shots on the leg side. If the ball is pitched on the middle stump, he falls into that trap. Virat has the worst ever technique to play spin. He traps himself on the back foot and gets LBW. Whenever Virat tries to score runs on the back foot, he scores, but when he tries to defend, he gets out. He should try to commit himself to the front foot. Dube doesn't seem to know how cricket is played. He can hit sixes but can't defend. Imagine playing a leg spinner without any footwork—that's silly. I think even Siraj bats more sensibly nowadays compared to Dube. And the two best players against spin, Rahul and Iyer, got out cheaply. I don't see any technical fault in their batting, but I think too many changes in the batting order may be affecting their form. Axar and Washington Sundar play well against spinners. Axar missed his well-deserved half-century by just 6 runs. Washington's defensive technique is excellent, but he can't attack. I mean, he can, but he is not a power hitter type of batter.
HOW WELL DID INDIAN BOWLERS BOWL?
It was an average performance with the ball, not too bad. As I predicted in my last blog, Washington Sundar was the standout performer, taking 3 crucial wickets. (READ MY LAST BLOG). He bowled very well, hitting the right length. Even though Kuldeep got 2 wickets, it wasn't his best performance. I'm not complaining about it; he didn't have much help from the pitch compared to Washington and Axar. I expect Axar to bowl more wicket-taking deliveries. I predict Axar to take at least 3 wickets in the 3rd ODI. It's not fair to judge the fast bowlers' performance on this pitch, but Arshdeep should try to be economical rather than going for wickets. Not expecting a lot to change, just need to be more focused on line and length.
PREDICTIONS FOR 3RD ODI
- Axar to take at least 3 wickets.
- Washington to shine again (maybe can bat well too if needed).
- Virat to shine if batting first.
- Expecting Riyan to come in place of Dube (I mentioned earlier that we want a spinner who bowls with their arm).
- If chasing, KL Rahul will be the key player.
- India to win the match.
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