INDIA LOST THE SERIES 2-0 AGAINST SRI LANKA
Shameful series loss! We lost against the 7th-ranked ODI team, and they didn't even have their full-strength squad. We lost an ODI series against Sri Lanka after 27 years. What went wrong? Is it because of the new coaching staff? Or too many changes in the batting order? Many questions arise, so let's dive in and try to cover as much as possible in this blog.
IS COACHING STAFF A PROBLEM?
I don't think we should start blaming the coach so early; it's just the first ODI series under GG. The new era is facing criticism, and perhaps GG was overhyped. It's too early to judge his coaching, but to be honest, when you have a balanced ODI batting line-up that almost won the World Cup, why change the batting order so drastically? Just to fit a lefty at No. 4? And that lefty doesn't even score enough, leading to a collapse. We couldn't chase a target of 249 with 10 batters in the team? Was the pitch really that bad to bat on?
I mentioned in my last blog (CLICK HERE TO READ) that Indian batters are not playing technically well, but this might not have been the case in the 3rd ODI if we had a dedicated batting coach. According to ESPNcricinfo, our coaching staff consists of Gautam Gambhir (head coach), Abhishek Nayar (assistant coach), Ryan ten Doeschate (assistant coach), and T Dilip (fielding coach). The lack of a dedicated batting and bowling coach may have affected the performance. Shivam Dube tried his best to play using his feet, but he didn't look convincing.
WHAT'S WRONG WITH VIRAT KOHLI AGAINST SPINNERS?
Over the years, Virat had a pretty good batting record against spinners until 2020.
Virat Kohli against Spinners in ODIs (Avg)
2009: 24.75
2010: 70.33
2011: 41.38
2012: 161.50
2013: 78.60
2014: 93.20
2015: 46.40
2016: 62.33
2017: 167.67
2018: 85.80
2019: 159.67
2020: 62.00
2021: 41.00
2022: 25.00
2023: 89.17
2024: 13.33
In 2020, he had an average of 62 but hit only 1 six against spinners. He regained his form against spinners in 2023, but in 2024, it's the same old story. Pitches matter too, but the technique against spinners has been the worst ever by an Indian batter. I hope he works to improve it.
DO WE REQUIRE A LEFTY BATTER AT NO. 4?
There's a saying in Hindi, "जो टूटा नहीं उससे क्यों तोडना?" (Why break something that isn't broken?). We had a great batting line-up: Shreyas was performing well at No. 4, and Rahul was best at No. 5. Why change it? This creates confusion among players; they don't have a consistent batting position. Before the Champions Trophy, we only have 3 ODIs left. Why experiment so much when you already have your 11 players ready? This experiment might be successful in the future, but I personally feel it won't help. To build a team, you need to give players a sense of stability.
Nayar explained, “They had an off-spinner and a leg-spinner, so the thought process was right. The idea is about having the left-right combination so that we can capitalize on the conditions.”
DIFFERENCE BETWEEN SRI LANKAN AND INDIAN BATTERS?
Sri Lankan batters played much better than Indian batters throughout the series. They had more quality shots against the spinners, while we were playing one-dimensional shots. Sri Lankan batters regularly played sweep shots, which even cost them some wickets, but they succeeded in scoring boundaries. In contrast, Indian batters tried to play with the turn, which cost them wickets when the ball followed the line instead of turning.
Riyan did try something unorthodox like the paddle sweep but eventually gave his wicket foolishly. If you don't have shots like the sweep in your arsenal, play like Washi did. He played every attacking shot on the front foot and was successful because his footwork was amazing. Players with poor footwork got exposed in the series.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
A lot to learn from this series—never be overconfident; anything can happen in sports. Gill was average throughout the series, but I don't remember if I mentioned his inswinger problem in my blog. He always gets in trouble when the ball is coming into him. He should work on this to dominate overseas as the BGT is also not that far.
Other than that, Rohit was awesome, Riyan looked good with both bat and ball, Dube doesn't deserve a place, Siraj and Arshdeep need to improve a lot, and Washi should be considered a permanent squad member now. Maheesh Theekshana said, "India play on good wickets and small boundaries. We knew if there's a little bit of turn, we could take advantage."
There are very high chances that India will play their Champions Trophy matches on these pitches, so the technical problems should be solved ASAP, and a bowling coach should be found too. Overall, a series to forget for Indians. Now, India will play a test match against Bangladesh in September.
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