India vs Sri Lanka 2017: Change in format results in change in fortunes for the Lankans
Sri Lanka left India stunned in the 1st ODI at Dharamshala. Here are the talking points of this surprising result.
India found themselves stunned before they even knew what was happening in their first encounter in the first ODI against their southern neighbors. The Lankan bowlers rattled a rather new look Indian batting unit and the game was over even before Rohit Sharma could comprehend what was going on.
Here are a few talking points from the game, which led to the number one ODI side in the world losing so drastically against an opponent who they've dominated over in the recent past.
Missing the Skipper too much?
Now with Virat Kohli having asked for a break and India's batting failure in this game, the obvious question arises, whether the team depends too much on him. In my opinion, to an extent it (India's batting unit) may depend on Virat.
Though this present batting line up is more than capable of putting up stellar performances by themselves, which they have shown with their past performances. Yes of course, Virat Kohli's dominating, aggressive, never-give-up attitude certainly does brush off on the team as well, but this current batting unit is not short on talent.
Maybe the reason for the batting collapse was the lack of temperament and intent on the part of the Indian batsmen, something which more often than not was derived from the skipper himself. It was his presence as a leader that India missed more than his presence as a batsman.
The wrong permutations and combinations?
I certainly think India put it's best XI forward. The only change I could think of was to maybe play Ajinkya Rahane at number three simply for his experience rather than Shreyas Iyer's young and flaring talent. Don't get me wrong, Shreyas Iyer is a brilliant batsman in his own right but after having assessed the conditions maybe Rohit Sharma could have thought about it. There wasn't much else wrong nor was there much else India could do as far as the team composition and the toss was concerned.
An English wicket in the Himalayan mountains?
I've always thought Dharamshala is one of the best places to play cricket. A nice chill in the air, fresh and cool with the Himalayas looming in the background. It definitely wasn't the typical Indian wicket. The experts at the pitch report mentioned that conditions will aid the bowlers in the first hour or so.
All I've got to say is that Sri Lanka made best use of that. Electing to bowl first on a very Nottinghamshire-like wicket as Jonathon Trott described it, Sri Lanka could not have dreamed of a better start to the series.
Thisara Perera will be mighty pleased with the way things have turned out and also with his bowlers as he expressed the same saying "I think we should give 200% credit to our bowlers, they did a great job".
Should the popping crease be pushed an inch further?
Jasprit Bumrah would wish. He's had problems with front foot no-balls from the time he began his career and it proved costly for India yet again. It was a peach of a delivery that got Upul Tharanga fending off to Dinesh Karthik at gully when he was on 11.
As the Indians celebrated, the on-field umpires called for the third umpire to check if it was a legal delivery or not. And as luck would have it, TV replays suggested Bumrah had overstepped. By the time Pandya could get him out the second time, Tharanga had already moved on to 49 and the game lay well beyond India's grasp.
The only thing that could win India the game was wickets. Both early and at regular intervals. It did not happen.
Will the No. 4 problem present itself again?
Unless Dinesh Karthik scores a lot of runs and really makes it his own in these next two games, I think that problem will resurface. India will certainly be looking ahead towards the South Africa tour and this will be one question they would want answered in this series. Lot of players have shown promise but none have convinced.
They've tried quite a few players over the past year. Manish Pandey, Dinesh Karthik, KL Rahul and Ajinkya Rahane just to name a few. But one trick I really feel India are missing is that MS Dhoni still hasn't been given that opportunity at number four. I strongly believe that India are looking too hard for a number four batsman when they have the best one they can find batting at number six in the same team.
MS Dhoni clearly isn't the slogger that he once was. His role as a batsman has to change as his abilities have. He's the best anchor to any innings and you've got to have your anchor at number four.
Once he's set I will not be surprised if a few helicopters are launched as well. He just needs more time and it's evident every time he walks out. He was the one that got runs when nobody else did in this game. I just feel he's walking in too late.
So what next?
India mustn't lose heart. They've got no reason to. Sometimes even the best are beaten. It's just that they've got to think hard on what they could do better and keep that in the back of their mind.
As for the result, it can well go into the recycle bin and be deleted permanently. They've got to remind themselves that they are the number one ODI side in the world and that they are number one for a reason.
As for Sri Lanka, they've got every reason to celebrate. They haven't won too many ODIs this year and a lot of things haven't gone their way. They've got to remind themselves of this game again and again throughout the next couple of games because it's a great testimony that justifies the ability that this Sri Lankan team has.
They go one up in this series and they've got every right to believe that they can beat India in this series.