Atreyo Mukhopadhyay
There are two reasons for appreciating the series-clinching win secured by India in the second ODI against Sri Lanka. One, they pulled things back when they appeared to be losing the plot while bowling. Two, they also seemed to be missing the bus when they were batting. Thanks mainly to Kuldeep Yadav and KL Rahul, they reversed it. Yes, there were worrying signs as well. We will come to that later.
Winning by 90-odd runs after scoring 370-plus is something. To grit it out when the chips are down several times in a low-scoring match and eventually coming up trumps is something different altogether. The second takes a bit of doing. It shows that the team which does that is tough mentally. They refuse to give in and believe in their strengths whatever those may be. India displayed guts and resolve aplenty at Eden Gardens on Thursday.
Sri Lanka had got off to an impressive start. Their top-order batters, especially debutant Nuwanidu Fernando, had set a strong platform for a total in the vicinity of 300 or thereabouts. One hundred up for the loss of one wicket in around 15 or 16 overs was a big beginning. Barring Mohammad Shami, the Indian quick bowlers were not spot-on and bowling on either side of the wicket. There were unnecessary short balls as well. The visitors looked set for a formidable total.
That’s when the spinners turned the game around. Kuldeep Yadav was awesome. Not because he took wickets, but because he looked for wickets. It has said often that figures of 3 for 50 are better than figures of none for 30 and that is exactly what the left-arm leg-break bowler did. He kept the batters guessing and rarely erred in direction. Control immaculate and mostly on the money, he brought India back in the game. Axar Patel, too, played his part with his wicket-to-wicket approach.
That is where Sri Lanka lost the plot. 102 for one became 152 for seven and it was India’s game to lose after that. Well, it looked like India might have lost it. Given that Rohit Sharma’s team’s tail is long, it might become tough when you lose the top four for a total of 70 runs among them. And it could have been game, if not set and match Sri Lanka, had India lost another quick wicket after being reduced to 86 for four. Rahul and Hardik Pandya showed presence of mind and understanding of the situation to pull India through that challenging phase.
Given that the run rate was brisk despite losing wickets and the target was not that steep, they had to be there without offering more casualties. That is what they did, eschewing the instinct to go for glory. It was commendable how they went about their job. Head down, disciplined, showing bowlers the respect they deserved, they bailed India out. Contrary to expectations, the Sri Lankan fast bowlers caused India more worry than their spinners. But this duo withstood that and set India up for the win. There were late jitters alright, but Rahul shared partnerships to see the team through.
That is what matters. Comprehensive wins can lead to overconfidence. Narrow wins build real confidence. To win big is good. To win when things tend to go out of control is better. That’s when you start believing that you can do it when not everything is in your favour. Biggest takeaway, according to me, for India, was the fact that they were made to work hard. They dug deep and eventually, came up smiling. Among others, Rahul and Kuldeep deserve credit for this.
Let me come to the bitter point now. I call it bitter because this has been happening for a while and might prove costly against stronger teams. There is an age-old axiom in sports which says that do not let the opposition get away when they are down. Finish them. This Indian attack, despite having six who can bowl, has let that happen frequently. Thursday was no exception.
Considering that India have a fairly long tail, it is crucial that the bowlers finish things off when they have the other team on the ropes. They have been unable to do that a number of times in the recent past. This inability cost them the ODI series in Bangladesh last month. And they have let the Sri Lankan tail flourish in both games of the ongoing series so far. A team from 152 for seven should not be allowed to reach 215, considering that this Indian team does not bat that deep. What is the point in playing with five specialist bowlers plus Pandya in that case?
Series won alright but the team management will do well to think about this. When you do not bat that deep because you want to field that additional bowler, it is important to not let the opposition come back after you have dented their middle-order. Well done for a series won, but do what you can before the World Cup to address this.