"Was it a shock? I would say yes," commented India's assistant coach Abhishek Nayar as he tried to make sense of the unexpected loss to Sri Lanka in the second ODI. He attributed the defeat to the spin-friendly conditions that can dramatically change the course of a match.
India's vulnerability to spin was evident once again as leg-spinner Jeffrey Vandersay devastated their lineup with a six-wicket haul, leading to a 32-run loss for the visitors on Sunday.
"...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," Nayar stated at the post-match press conference.
Chasing a target of 241 on a spin-assisting pitch, India was bowled out for 208 in 42.2 overs. In the previous game, too, the Indian batsmen, except for skipper Rohit Sharma, had struggled.
"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," he added.
The assistant coach mentioned that the team management would reflect on their shortcomings.
"We want to go back and understand, and rectify, why it happened twice in a row. The day before yesterday, we were able to stitch partnerships but today we lost quite a few wickets in a bundle."
India made changes to their middle order, promoting Shivam Dube (0) to number four, while maintaining a right-left combination with Shreyas Iyer (7) and KL Rahul (0) at six and seven, respectively.
"My belief is that in any sport, position only matters if you're playing in different areas of a game. We lost wickets in the middle phase, and that's where the middle order batters batted. It's not as if middle order batters batted towards the end.
"The thought process was right. When it doesn't work out, these questions are asked often. But I've always believed that if a middle order batter bats as a middle order batter, it is the right decision," Nayar said.
Nayar also noted that there is more pressure on the team batting second.
"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. They scored important runs in the lower order."
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