"Team India is another RCB after captain Rohit Sharma's wicket" - Fans slam Men in Blue for shocking defeat to Sri Lanka in 2nd ODI
Team India suffered a shocking 32-run defeat in the second ODI against Sri Lanka in Colombo on August 4. It was India's first defeat in an ODI to Sri Lanka in their last eight outings.
The result also meant Sri Lanka took an unassailable 1-0 lead in the three-match series with one game left. The hosts won the toss and batted first in a second consecutive match.
Much like the series opener, they scratched their way to a competitive total of 240 on a tacky pitch. Despite scoring 10 runs more than the first ODI, Team India responded in style by reaching 97/0 in the 14th over.
Yet, they did not see Jeffrey Vandersay coming and the leg-spinner, coming in for the injured Wanindu Hasaranga, produced an incredible spell of 6/33 in his 10 overs. Further impressive was the fact that he took the first six Indian wickets to fall, propelling their dismal batting collapse.
India's meek surrender in the tied opening game and especially in the defeat today had fans on X fuming with the following reactions:
Fans continued slamming Team India for their shocking defeat with one saying:
"Indian team is nothing without Rohit Sharma. Selfless captain but biggest problem is middle order."
"Team India is another RCB after captain Rohit Sharma wicket," said a fan.
"Sunday and India a never ending love story," a fan tweeted.
"When you lose a game, everything hurts" - Indian captain Rohit Sharma opens up on losing 2nd ODI
Indian skipper Rohit Sharma expressed his disappointment at the side's shocking collapse to fall 0-1 behind in the three-match series.
The 37-year-old was the lone shining light in both ODIs with half-centuries as the rest of the batting lineup came apart against the Lankan spinners.
At the post-match presentation, Rohit said:
"When you lose a game, everything hurts. It's not just about those 10 overs. You have to play consistent cricket and we failed to do that today. Little disappointed but these things happen. You got to adapt what's in front of you. We weren't good enough. Don't want to look too much into how we played. But there'll be talks about our batting in the middle overs."
India's bilateral ODI series unbeaten record against Sri Lanka since 1997 is now on the line going into the final ODI.
Rohit Sharma's Men will look to finish on level terms by winning the series finale at the same venue on Wednesday, August 7.